We All Just Wanna Be Big Rock Stars
by Symphonious
Summary: The life of a girl named Tenten in a world of highschool, music... and of course... men. HOT men. And with the Valentine's Concert coming up, will she stand a chance in keeping her feelings secret? Bad summary, but story... ain't that bad. All pairings!
1. Meet the Band!

**Hiya! It is me again! Symphie! Yes. Anyways, I am writing an AU fic this time. Haha! This is my first one, anyways. Ah, well. This shall be the usual high school fanfiction with the same cheesy bands, hot guys and slutty girls. You know the usual. But, this fanfiction will not revolve around the sun, or SasuSaku. It will revolve around NEJITEN! AHA! Anyways. I don't know own Naruto, and unfortunately, I never will, and just for the record – I won't be writing this in every chapter so read it now. I don't own any of the songs that I will be using in this fanfiction. Unless, I cook something up with my lame rhyming skills.**

**Here goes somethin', more like nothin' but screw that!**

_We All Wanna Be Big Rock Stars_

Crap. Oh, crap. Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap.

"HOLY SHIT!" A voice shrieked as the alarm clock shattered against the wall and landed on the floor in exactly a million pieces of broken plastic, wires and little knobby thingies that make the clock work. The destroyer of the clock was sitting up in her bed, her shoulder length hair messed up on top of her head, and her large brown eyes wider than basketballs. No, the destroyer of the clock wasn't a morning person. She never was a morning person, and never will be.

Tenten blinked repeatedly before her eyes actually adjusted to her surroundings – her apartment. Strange. She didn't remember being in her apartment at all. She didn't remember falling asleep. Hell, she didn't even remember going to bed all.

"Huh?" She hummed childishly, and blinked her large brown eyes once again. The destroyer of the clock was still asleep… her mind's eye was closed at least, and her mind was snoring soundly within her head. Tenten glanced around for the alarm clock to check the time, only to find it broken and shattered against the wall, in exactly a million pieces, but she didn't bother to count. If she really had broken her alarm clock, with her precise aim and power, it would have definitely shattered in a exactly a million pieces, all the same size and shape.

Instead, the destroyer of the clock glanced out the window. It was still dark, so she guessed around 5 a.m.

"Good to know," She muttered to herself, scowling deeply at the black heavens outside. She had finally awoken, and when she does wake up, there is no use going back to sleep. Anyways, she had practice at six, at _that_ place, and she had to get ready, and be on time – for once.

With a deep sigh, Tenten got out of bed, and stalked towards the bathroom heavily, and quickly took a shower, brushed her teeth, brushed her hair into the usual hair-do – two buns on top of her head, making her look like a panda.

She got dressed into a pair of straight black jeans, baggy on her slim legs and hips, and a casual gray sweat shirt on top of a casual white t-shirt. If it wasn't for her hair, Tenten could easily be mistaken for a guy. Some people did. They just thought that this boy had really long hair.

"Whatever," She would just mutter to them, shrugging, and blinking her large brown eyes, sort of boyishly, but whatever.

Tenten stepped out of her tiny apartment, locked the door, and with a sigh, trotted down the stairs leading to the street. Once out in the fresh, open air, the young brunette breathed in deeply, and pasted a smile onto her face. She practically raced down the streets, turning corners with extraordinary speed, sometimes running on the same spot for more than couple of seconds before being nothing but a line of dust on the side walk.

All the while, she kept that same smile on her lips, her big brown eyes shining. It was still dark outside, and the moon was only starting to set, and first shades of dawn colored the sky in a slightly lighter navy blue. The stars were starting to fade, and the streets were empty of any, but our one and only – Tenten. Well, of course, she was on the track-and-field team, and their team never lost, because Tenten was always the first one to run over the finish line. Always. She never failed. Well, she had practice today, that's why she was nothing but a blur to that kid who was starting out the window and that cat who didn't even care enough to turn and look – or even blink.

The only reason she was speeding down the street was – not practice – but that white-eyed individual who made her skin crawl. And the only reason that white-eyed individual made her skin was because he'd kick her ass if she was late. The last she was late, she got an earful of swears and curse, and she was practically deaf for a week, not to mention mentally nervous every time that one white-eyed individual was around. But, he was around _every single day_.

They went to the same damn school, they were in the same damn clubs – including track-and-field, and she was never able to outrun that one white-eyed individual – they were in the same damn band.

Yes, band. A band like the infamous _Rolling Stones_, and _the Beatles _or whatever. Idiot. Why did that one white-eyed individual have to be there _every single second of her life?_ The only peace Tenten ever got was when she left school to head home, and only _then_ did their paths not cross. He lived on the other side of town, thank the Lord for that.

Tenten entered the building as quickly and silently as she could, but she managed to make such a ruckus, that she wouldn't have been surprised if she woke up the whole street, including everyone on the side of Japan. You see, she was _dead clumsy_, which isn't a surprise. Not every girl that is mistaken for a boy was a perfectionist. Tenten was quite the opposite, actually. Her apartment was a mess. Not a mess, like your room sort of mess, but a _huge mess_. There wasn't a spot on the floor, walls or even the bathtub, that was clean. Thank goodness she flushed the toilet, but that's about it. Her closet was not only stuffed with clothes, but it was overflowing! Her toothbrush was lying somewhere in the bathtub, and the toothpaste was sticking out of the sink like a plug. That's why she never let anyone in her apartment, not even her own parents.

The girl tumbled into the room where that one white-eyed individual was sitting alone on the stage, plucking a senseless tune on his guitar. He didn't look up as Tenten tripped over a stool that somehow found it's way to the front of the door, or when she banged her head on the wall. Instead, her put down his guitar, closed his pearly white eyes, and crossed his arms over his chest. He waited until the noise had stopped completely, which either meant that Tenten passed out, or was sitting beside him on the stage.

"Hey, Neji." Her voice was breathless – from running, he could tell.

"Hello, Tenten." He replied coolly, finally opening his eyes to look at the one member of the band. "How's your day so far?"

"Horrible." Tenten shrugged, smiling. "As always. You know, I'm not really a morning person."

"Need another alarm clock?" The look on her face was priceless. Not that he was psychic or anything, but he knew she broke her alarm clock. It happens everyday, and everyday she tells him this, because everyday she is the second person to arrive to the room, right after him. She gaped in astonishment at him.

"How did you know?" Her voice was just above a small whisper.

"You tell me everyday. What, you got short-term memory loss, or something?" She glared.

"I told you, I'm not a morning person!"

Neji smirked, and eyed the girl fuming girl playfully.

"I know." He said, picking up his guitar, and playing another senseless tune, his fingers dancing over the strings – obviously, half-assedly. Tenten watched him with an accusing eye, and winced when Neji hit a poorly selected note. She listened to him play a little while longer, flinching every time he got off key, until she finally couldn't take any longer. Tenten ripped the guitar out of Neji's hands, glared at his surprised expression, and jumped to her feet quickly. She walked towards center stage, turned around and faced her audience confidently, her face determined.

"What're you gonna play?" Neji asked, looking up at her with a what-the-hell-do-you-think-you're-doing look.

"The song that you were going to solo at the concert." She grumbled, as she skimmed over the guitar's notes with her fingers, tuning one or the other.

"You don't know how to play guitar!"

"Who said?" 

"I did!"

"Oh, and like I'm going to do what you say? You're not the almighty, power Hyuuga Neji I know from high school. And just because you've been in the band longer, doesn't mean I'm going to listen to you. God, Hyuuga, and they call _you_ a genius."

Neji scowled at this. Even if he didn't want to admit, she was right. She was actually the only girl he didn't have power over. Back in high school, he could get any girl he wanted, but… never mind that. The Hyuuga shook his head at this own thoughts. He glared at Tenten who was now plucking the perfect notes for the song, keeping the right rhythm – tapping her foot while doing so.

"_I'm through with standin' in line to clubs I'll never get in_," Tenten sang, glancing at Neji, smirking smugly. "_It's like the bottom of the ninth, and I'm never gonna win. This life hasn't turned out quite the way I want it to be._"

Neji kept his face neutral, and just stared as Tenten started to pace around the stage, her feet tapping the tempo on the wooden floor.

"_I want a brand new house on an episode of Cribs, and a bathroom I can play baseball in, and a king size tub big enough for ten plus me._" Tenten had the most triumphant smile he had ever seen her have, and Neji had the feeling that she stole his lyrics sheet, and studied it until she knew it perfectly. He already knew her answer. 'Maybe I did, maybe I didn't.'

"_I'm gonna trade this life for fortune and fame,_" The girl's voice rang out clearly throughout the 'auditorium', if you could call it that. The place was pretty small, but stage was taking up more than half of it, so… the stage itself was pretty big. Her large brown eyes narrowed at Neji's still unchanged expression, but she continued nonetheless. "_I'll even cut my hair and change my name…_" Suddenly, Tenten threw the guitar at Neji, and said instrument landed square on the Hyuuga's lap. "Catch." She said, quite a bit too late, since the one white-eyed individual was already leaping onto the stage, and placing the guitar into its position across his chest.

"You skipped two verses," He grumbled softly, glaring at Tenten accusingly, though he inwardly proud of her being able to actually play the right tune, and sing along without a single flaw.

"I wanted you to join in," She replied mischievously, smirking in a very boyish way.

Neji smirked right back, and slid his fingers across the 'stomach' of the instrument, while the fingers of his other hand danced across the neck in various cords.

"_And we all just wanna be_ _big rock stars, and live in hilltop houses, driving fifteen cars,_" Tenten went on singing, while Neji hummed along quietly, but he joined in the chorus – the second sentence of it, that is. "_The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap, we'll all stay skinny 'cause we just won't eat._" By this time, another voice joined the pair as a young, attractive, black-haired man jumped onto the stage, and casually sung along, since he as well, knew the lyrics too well.

It was him who stole Neji's lyrics sheet first, and with only a glance, memorized the whole thing – which isn't actually true, he was a genius, but even a genius wouldn't be able to do something that… strange. And then, another two voices leaped into action as two more boys entered the small stage area – one, and overly energetic, hyper-active, blue-eyed blonde – the other, a lazy, brown-haired, spiky-pony tailed teen, who didn't even care enough to hum along half-assedly. He just stared out the only window, where the darkness was still overflowing the sleeping streets.

"_And we'll hang out in the coolest bars in the VIP with the movie stars. Every good gold digger's gonna wind up there, every Playboy Bunny with her bleach blonde hair, and well… Hey, hey I wanna be a rock star!_" And with a loud clap from Tenten, and a loud stomp of her shoe, Neji strummed the last cord of the chorus, and the room fell silent again.

For a long moment, no one spoke. It wasn't an awkward silence, but a comfortable one, where everyone acknowledged everyone.

"So, Sasuke and Shikamaru finally showed up, eh?" Muttered Tenten finally, nodding towards the two dark-haired boys with the most unusual hair-do one would ever see. Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke, had the hair of a duck butt, or so Tenten called it and all because the hair on top of his head looked like a duck butt. Shikamaru, Nara Shikamaru, had earned the title of Pineapple Boy, since his ponytail looked like a rotten pineapple sticking out of a hair elastic.

"Hey, hey! What about me, Tenten-chan?" The blonde pouted at the only girl in the group – for the moment – who smiled and ruffled his already, unruly blonde mess of what turned out to be hair. This was Uzumaki Naruto, also known as Sunny Head, not only because of his incredibly bright hair, but also because of his overwhelmingly addicting personality. He seemed an idiot – which he was – but a very loveable idiot.

Naruto smirked at Tenten's silent gesture. "Can't keep your hands off me, ne, Tenten-chan?"

The blonde definitely deserved that knuckle upside his head, which almost always came from Sasuke, but this time, he received from none other than Hyuuga Neji, who seemed very pissed off… silently. Yes, Naruto definitely deserved _that_ knuckle upside his head, because it's not everyday he got to say something perverted and _not_ get away with it.

Since Sasuke almost always hit Naruto upside the head, and since the Uchiha and the Uzumaki had been best friends since Pre-K, Naruto would always hit him right back, which would usually result a small battle in which both of them got at least one bruise. But, since today it was Neji who hit Naruto upside the head, Naruto couldn't respond his revenge onto the Hyuuga, because Neji will hit right back… harder than Naruto would have deserved. Tenten knew that from… personal… experiences with Neji… in gym class.

_Flashback_

_She panted but kept going, her feet hitting the ground heavily, her arms pumping at her sides. Sweat was starting to gather at her brow and Tenten tried to ignore as best as she could, but she was just out of breath. Trying to regain your breath while running isn't the easiest of all things. But still, she needed to keep going. She needed to beat him._

That smug bastard,_ she thought, glaring at the back of the boy who was only a couple of steps ahead of her, his long, dark hair swishing behind him as he ran with such ease that… well, yeah. _

_Oh, how Tenten hated gym. This was one of those gym periods when they have to run around the field for an hour without stopping to get an A, and Tenten needed an A in gym. Yes, she was on the track-and-field team and the cross country team, and yes she was the best of them… in the girls division. He was still better than her._

_He beat her at every beep test they had, arriving a step before she did. Oh, how she hated **him**._

That idiotic smug bastard_, she was getting nearer him. He had slowed down. Or was it on purpose. Rumor has it that Neji could see all 360 degrees radius, which sort of scared Tenten, even when she knew it wasn't true._

_Now, she was jogging right beside him, and tried to keep pace with him, but she was just too tried. Who knew that just running could take this much out of you? Tenten wasn't a long distance runner, she was more of a speed runner. Always came first at track-and-field._

"_Hiya, Neji," She breathed, managing a forced smile, but he just glanced at her once. "Uhh… right." She shrugged inwardly. She looked back up. The finish line was getting near, and on pure instinct, she began to pick up speed, but _that smug bastard_ still stayed right beside her. Was she going faster or slower? She couldn't tell._

_Tenten moved her feet faster, and the finish line was just a couple of feet ahead. Maybe… just maybe, she would be able to beat him… The brunette closed her eyes sharply, and sped over the finish line with a new energy. The pistol signaled that someone had one. Tenten still didn't dare to open her eyes. Instead she waited for the name to be announced. She knew it wasn't one of those gym periods that were all… whoo-hoo, you know?_

"_And the winner is… Tenten…?"_

_Her eyes shot open. Is that true? "No way." She whispered, staring at their supply teacher._

"_I demand a re-match." She whirled around to see a certain white-eyed individual glaring coldly right at her, but she just made a face at him._

"_You can't stand to have someone beat you, ne, Neji?"_

"_Alright." She gasped. Apparently, Neji was really good… at everything. "A re-match between Hyuuga Neji and Tenten…?" She nodded. "Tenten!"_

_End Flashback_

Tenten just knew it all too well.

"Hey, sorry we're late!" A girl's voice broken Tenten away from her sorrowful memory.

"Ino! Sakura! You two are finally here!"

**Yeah, well. That was a big, long chapter. Especially… it not being a chapter, but a prologue. But I'll make it a chapter/prologue! Whatever. And just to tell you… READ THIS – FOR ANYONE WHO DOES NOT READ THIS – PLEASE READ THIS:**

**I'll make a little spot at the end of each chapter which shall be called _Explanations._ If you read a chapter, and you don't understand something… I'll sort of explain the many points here. Oh, and also the next chapter will be written from Tenten's point of view. This one was not, because it was supposed to be a prologue. But, you know. It turned into a chapter.**

_**Explanations:**_

Hi! SO anyways. This chapter/prologue is called – Meet the Band! And that's exactly its meaning. In this chapter you meet the band in third person, so in the next chapter, Tenten won't have to explain every single little thing (she likes to be descriptive)! Right? She will have to explain a lot of other things, just not all of the characters. You all know what Ino and Sakura look like, right? Good. Anyways!

READ AND REVIEW NO JUTSU! .

_**Songs that I am planning on using in the Fanfiction:**_

_**Rockstar – Nickelback **_

_**Shut Up – Simple Plan**_

_**Savin' Me – Nickelback**_

_**How to Save a Life – The Fray**_

_**The Reason – Hoobastank**_

_**(Might be using) My World – SR-71**_


	2. Emotional Crisis

**Aiiiye! Hello! Tis I, your fellow writer/reader – Symphonious a.k.a. Symphie! Big thanks to all those people who reviewed! Even though there weren't many reviews, I still greatly appreciate it. . Right! The next chappie!**

**Here goes somethin', more like nothin' but screw that!**

* * *

I turned my head to look at the two approaching girls, and with a smile, I greeted them. 

"Hiya! Ino, Sakura!" They waved back with the same smile, and greeted the boys. Those two were always late, and they had various, lame excuses. Once they said that they overslept, which seemed like a decent excuse, but the way they said it almost made it look like a joke. Both of them were blushing, and either rubbing the back their heads, or shifting nervously, and giggling at the same time. I could see the girls weren't very good liars.

But the boys didn't seem to mind – they just waved it off. But, the one time _I_ was late, they nearly tore my head off my shoulders, and popped my eardrums! I had mental problems for about a week after that encounter with all the guys – even Shikamaru, who usually doesn't care enough to care – and I fidgeted away from them, even when they were in a classroom next door. Yeah, I have problems already, but they just turned my problems into issues.

I watched Ino and Sakura climb onto the stage and rush to the back on clicking high-heels, and flashy clothing. Those never usually wore high-heels on practice mornings, let alone three-inch, hot pink, sparkly platforms that didn't even hold the foot in place. I could never understand how they actually walked on those things. I remember the first time I tried walking on high-heeled shoes, I fell over the second I stood up. I also remember the sneer Neji gave me, and the red foot print on his cheek for a couple of weeks after that.

Ino and Sakura returned, and beckoned me to come to the back with them.

"Tenten! Come!" I gave the strangest look I could muster. Even though I didn't know what was going on _exactly_, I still had a slight idea. What were they going to do to me?

They dragged me to the back of the stage with them, and dropped me down on the bench of the changing room. I blinked, and the next thing I knew, Ino was trying to pull of my sweatshirt, while Sakura was untying my running shoes. I stared for a moment, before realizing it.

"Ah!" I yelped, trying to pull my t-shirt back down, since Ino managed to pull off my sweatshirt while I was in a daze. "What are you, lesbians?!"

Ino glared at me through her icy-blue eyes, and let go of my shirt, stepping back and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Fine, take off your shirt yourself, then." She hissed at me.

"No!" I cried, jumping off the bench, and shaking my foot out of Sakura's grip, and stumbling away, meanwhile hitting my back against the wall. I winced as the pain started to seep down my spine, but kept an expression of permanent surprise. What the hell were they trying to do? "If you two wanna be lesbians, go do it with yourselves! Leave me out of it! I'm straight!"

Sakura and Ino exchanged looks, and stepped away from each other in disgust, Sakura shaking her short, pink hair out of the way, while Ino fiddle with her own blonde locks.

"If I was a lesbian, I definitely would _not_ be with _her_." Sakura growled, glancing at Ino was such a look, I was almost sure she was telling the truth. "Not that I am." She added as my expression didn't change. Ino just inched away silently, glaring at Sakura coldly, still slowly edging away. She was still trying to get away – quite slowly – when the wall met her shoulder, and the blonde forcefully pushed herself into it, while Sakura stood her ground, head high, and arms crossed.

"A-ano…?" A small, quiet voice broke the tense silence that hung above us three since the moment the blonde and the pink-head tried to undress me. "A-am I interrupting something?" In the doorway to the change rooms stood a short, thin girl, her white eyes –very much like that certain individual's – wide in slight surprise.

For a moment, none of us spoke. Ino, Sakura and I just stared at the girl with the same expressions we held earlier. I snapped out of it first. Pasting on a smile, I waved my arms around wildly.

"No, no! Of course not, Hinata-san!" This was Hinata Hyuuga, the certain individual's cousin. The two lived together, in that big, huge Hyuuga mansion I've seen only once in my entire life, but the image was printed in permanent ink within my mind. The house was so grand and perfect it seemed to me that Neji didn't deserve to live there, having the perfect life and whatnot. He such seemed too much of an asshole.

Hinata cocked her head to one side, holding a clip board to her chest tightly. She was our… 'manager', you could say. She volunteered to be our manager actually, and she only did it because Neji was in the band. If it wasn't for him, would have had some strange, fat, ugly guy for a manager, because some strange, fat, ugly guy tried to be our manager, but thankfully, we were all smart enough to turn him down.

At the same time, Hinata made more money than the band did. Hell, she even made more money than her own father – Neji's Uncle – which is quite… unusual.

Hyuuga Hiashi owned the Hyuuga Co., which was also competing with Sasuke's family's company – Uchiha Ltd.

Anyways, I never understood all this business stuff, and I don't think I ever will, because I always failed Business Class in high school no matter how hard I tried.

"I see…" Hinata muttered, eyeing the three of us with a knowing eye.

"Why do you ask?" My voice wavered nervously, and I felt my cheeks begin to burn white hot.

"Well, Neji-nii-san-"

_Neji-nii-san? That bastard…_

"- said that you guys were making a ruckus out here, and asked me to check on you."

I blinked stupidly. "Oh." God, I was an idiot. And I thought-

"What were you guys doing here, anyways? Naruto-kun said that he heard screaming." I blinked again. Screaming?

"Oh, that…" I chuckled softly, rubbing the back of my head with my hand. "W—"

"Tenten thought that we were lesbians because I tried to take her shirt off, and Sakura was untying her shoes." Ino said calmly, examining a fingernail out of girly habit.

"You guys aren't?" Hinata inquired. Clearly unclearly.

"Aren't what?" Sakura asked, looking dumbly at the young Hyuuga girl.

"Lesbians." At this, I tried very hard not to laugh. I snorted loudly, and covered my mouth with both hands, but I couldn't help but yell out in amusement. Hinata was good. She was always good with jokes. But, the white-eyed girl just glanced at me questioningly as I practically rolled on the floor, crying and laughing at the same time. Sakura and Ino just stood there, dumbfounded, their mouths open. Hinata giggled at them, and waved her hand. "I'm just kidding." But, Sakura and Ino didn't budge.

By that time, I was just giggling uncontrollably, sitting in the corner, holding my stomach as it throbbed slightly from my unstoppable laughter. Hinata eyed me with a small smile, and nodded. She turned around, and left the change rooms.

I breathed in and out, and calmed down after a short while. I started to change into my usual practice clothing that I brought with me in a small backpack. They were black sweat pants, and a loose spaghetti strap, and once I was finished, I stepped outside of the change rooms, where Sakura and Ino were glaring at each other warily.

Neji gave me a look as I stepped out onto the stage, and started to stretch my arms above my head. I noticed and stared back at him.

"What're you lookin' at?"

"You. Isn't it obvious?" I was taken aback by his sudden answer, and tried to step forward. Instead, I felt my self fall forwards as one of my feet hit the ground more quickly than I expected, while the other didn't even touch it. I let out a surprised yelp, and squished my eyes closed quickly, out of fear of hitting the ground face first.

I waited. And waited. But nothing hit me… at least anything that was hard. Opening my eyes, I found my self staring at a gray shirt, a soft hint of cologne tingling my senses. Something warm brushed against my neck, and a dreaded realization dawned about me. My face was pressed against Neji's chest.

I felt my cheeks burn, and my eyes widened in reaction. I pushed away from the Hyuuga quickly, tripped, and landed on my butt clumsily. But that time, my face was redder than a tomato, and I couldn't bring myself to look up at my… savior, I guess. I could still feel, his milky-white eyes bore into me, which made blush even more.

"Th-thanks, Neji." I managed to mutter, and glanced at my feet. For a moment, I just stared at that… _thing_… that was sitting on my foot, slightly more tightly than I would have liked.

"Tenten," My head jerked towards Neji as I glared at him with an almost loathing stare. I would have definitely liked to take all of my anger out on him. _That smug bastard._ "High heels don't suit you." His voice was on the verge of laughter, and I was surprised. I didn't think Neji was human enough to laugh.

"How do you know?" I snapped at him, grabbing the sparkling, pink… _monstrous… deadly… UGH!_ I ripped the shoe off my foot, and jumped up quickly, my face still bright and red – but this time, from pure rage.

"I think I've known you long enough to know that, Tenten." Neji nearly sneered, pasting on his trademark smirk that could easily win over any girl's heart.

…just the way it had won mine. Suddenly, I felt like my heart had dropped down all the way to my feet, and my stomach was being ripped open. A lump developed in my throat, as I felt wave of sadness rush towards my eyes, and they started to sting. The frustration and anger that I felt earlier was long gone, and the only thing that was left behind was sorrow.

I was always touchy about the subject of myself. Everyone I knew acted as if they knew me, when _I knew_, deep inside, that they had absolutely no idea who I was – and am. They laughed with me, and hung out with me and everything, but it just wasn't enough. Every time the band went out together to celebrate, I always got the feeling that I wasn't wanted, that I didn't belong. I always told myself I was imagining things, but it just wasn't convincing enough.

I felt fresh tears starting to build up behind my eyes, but I pushed them back with all the self-control I still had left. My body started to shake slightly, and I shuddered as another wave of sorrow washed over me. I tried to ignore it, but my emotions were too strong.

"Tenten?" I didn't even bother to look up at Neji, fearing of what I might see if I looked into his lavender-hued eyes. Annoyance? Rage? Or worst of all… Pity?

"I'm fine, Neji. Excuse me." I whispered hoarsely, and turned away quickly. The shoe I was holding in my hand slipped, and fell to the ground with a loud thud. The sound seemed to echo endlessly as I rushed into the bathroom, locked myself in a stall, and finally let the imprisoned tears spill over my face and cheeks freely.

* * *

It's not that I hated my friends, it's just that… they… didn't treat me too well at times. Well, nobody's perfect, I guess. But, by the time my watch beeped, signaling six a.m. and beginning of practice, I had already left the bathroom in a happy mood. Though, at heart I still felt slightly upset. Well, that feeling never actually left me alone. Not since my parents died, anyways. They died in a car crash – a three-way car crash. Their car ended up in the middle, and it exploded. So, I was left all alone. 

Until Sakura picked me up. We had been good friends since grade one, and when she heard about my parents' death, and how the government couldn't let me live alone in the house because I was underage – ten, to be exact – she had been nice enough to let me live with her until I was able to afford my own money.

* * *

"Tenten!" A worried Sakura jumped onto me, staring at me as if she had just seen a freaking ghost. "Are you alright? Everything okay?" 

"Err…" I sort of… freaked, for lack of a better word. She started to shake me by the shoulders, making me dizzier than a ball rolling down a ski hill, and by the time she stopped, I wanted to throw up. "Yes, I'm fine. Stop freaking shaking me, Sakura!"

I pushed away from her, and put my hands to my temple, blinking furiously to stabilize my vision. It felt as if the world was rolling about me, and I was standing on something that kept on moving continuously. After a while of wiggling about, I lost my balance and fell on my butt again, but this time I stayed there, sitting on the ground. The place was still spinning.

"Tenten-chan?" Naruto's voice broke the sudden silence that filled the room, and everything was still a mess of colors, though the sounds came to me perfectly.

"Everything is… spiiining…" I whined, watching with a slightly confused expression on my face. "Ahh…" I fell onto my back, a stupid smile spreading on my lips without my notice.

"T-T-Tenten-chan?!" The world started to slow down at last, and when it finally stopped, I saw Naruto's face so close to mine, I jumped. The next thing I knew, I felt someone's lips on top of mine, and a pair of wide, cyan eyes staring right into mine.

What…

The…

FUCK?!

I pulled away from him quickly, feeling my face fire up again (for the third time this morning). I let out a yelp, and rolled away, but not realizing how close I was to the edge of the stage, flew right off it. Landing on the hard floor wasn't exactly my plan, and I got up quickly.

The last thing I knew was the surprised faces of the band members, Naruto's screaming, red-faced apologies, and everything went dark.

* * *

**Well, that chapter made absolutely no sense. O.o**

_**Explanations:**_

Yeah, right. This chapter was just… something… strange. Oh, and sorry it took so long! Writing from someone's point of view is really hard! For me, at least. Oh, and sorry for the random mood swings Tenten's having. She's not pregnant! That's for sure. Ew. And I just _had_ to stuff in that kissing since there. Hehe… that was funny. Well, it looks like I'm not good with explanations!

Tell you what. You review me and tell me what you didn't understand, and I'll explain it in the beginning of the next chapter! Try to ask a lot of questions, because the people who read this after I update the third chapter might not understand something, so I'd like to explain everything that anyone doesn't understand. Thank you! Oh, and yes. Review and reading is a jutsu! READ AND REVIEW NO JUTSU!

**Songs I have decided to use:**

_How to Save a Life – The Fray_

_The Reason – Hoobastank_

_My World – SR-71_

_Far Away – Nickelback_

_Savin' Me – Nickelback_

_U + Ur Hand – Pink_

_Rockstar – Nickelback (Already used)_

_Shut up – Simple Plan_


	3. Stay at the Hospital

**Hola, amigos! Long time no see, ne? Anyways. Yeah. That chapter was a bit confusing. The only reason Tenten fainted was because Naruto kissed her. Wouldn't you faint if Naruto kissed you? I know I would… though I've never fainted before… hmmm… I know I'd faint if someone kissed me, that's for sure! Ack! Its disgusting! No offence to anyone. **

**Right! Here goes somethin', more like nothin' but screw that and all of you who don't agree!**

* * *

_The last thing I knew was the surprised faces of the band members, Naruto's screaming, red-faced apologies, and everything went dark._

The darkness was overwhelming, and I felt as if I were suffocating. I tried to breathe in, but it was as if someone had been holding my lungs tightly, and not letting any air into my blood and body. I was about to pass out again (if that was possible), but instead I felt something cold dribble down my skin.

I groaned as my eyes opened slightly, but I closed them again – the light was far too bright for my liking.

"Tenten?" A soft voice whispered right above me, and my eyes shot open, and I sat up quickly, only to hit my forehead on something, and fall back down. I winced as the pain started to thump in my head, and my back and elbows ached. The next thing I knew was a loud 'Ow!' that almost popped my ear drums. "Damn, Tenten… your head's hard."

"Well, what do you expect?" I knew that voice… "Its made of bone! And bone is stronger than metal." That voice…

"Ooh, someone's been doing their homework…" And that voice too…

"Oh, shut up, Ino! I'm going to become a doctor!"

"Than what are you doing dancing for a band for, eh?"

"I need the freaking money! No, duh!"

Oh, god… Why do they have to be so loud? Its like they were screaming into my ears!

"You… you bi—"

"Oh, shut the fuck up, for God's sake!" I finally shouted, putting a hand over my eyes, massaging my temple with the other. God, they just had to freaking yell, eh?

"Oh, sorry."

I just grunted in reply, and pushed myself into a sitting position, this time slowly. Blinking once, my vision adjusted, and I found myself in a white room, sitting in a soft, white bed… everything was so white, it took me a while to digest all this new information my brain was receiving. After a long while of just staring around, I still couldn't figure out where I was. Finally, swallowing the pride that had developed in my throat, I found my voice and asked,

"Where the hell am I?"

"A hospital." My head turned in the direction of the voice that answered my question, and I realized I was looking at Shikamaru. He had a strangely red chin, but I dismissed that thought if a slight raise of my brow, but that only brought more pain to my head. I moaned, and glanced around, only to find all of the band members, either standing or sitting in the small cramped room. Shikamaru was lucky to occupy the only chair that was next to my bed, while the others had the misfortune of standing near me, leaning against walls, or sitting at the edge of the bed.

Neji, who hadn't even moved a muscle since my awakening was leaning against the wall next to my head, his eyes closed and his arms crossed across his chest. His long hair was lying on his shoulders, almost gracefully, and I couldn't take my eyes off him. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he popped open an eye, and returned my gaze.

"What're you looking at?" I couldn't help but flinch, but retorted sharply.

"You. Isn't it obvious?" But, the Hyuuga just smirked, and opened both eyes to look right back at me. I just blinked at him. Suddenly, I felt myself being pushed back into the bed, almost violently, meanwhile hitting my back against the metallic bed top, which only resulted in a worse headache.

"Oh, Tenten! You're alive! You're alive!" My vision was blurred by a faceful of navy-hued hair, and I almost chocked as a pair of thin arms wrapped themselves around my neck tightly. A face buried itself in my shoulders, and I felt something wet dripped down my shirt.

"Uhh… Hinata-san?" I couldn't help but grin. Apparently, Hinata-san was more emotional than me, even after a dramatic breakdown… Oh, right. My dramatic, emotional crisis. Is that why I was in the hospital? I racked my brain for lost memories, while automatically patting the girl Hyuuga's back, who practically drowned me in tears. I couldn't find anything, so just pushed the thought away for now. At the moment, I had to calm down a sobbing friend. "Hinata-san! Of course I'm alive! I don't die so easily… don't worry! I'm alright."

That, of course, didn't stop the young Hyuuga from bawling like a baby, and I looked over at my friends questioningly. Were they going to speak at all?

"Hinata called 911 the second you passed out," Sakura replied, smiling in spite of herself. I knew she was a lesbian… I knew it all along. Ino was standing decently close to her. Actually, close enough. She even had her arm around the pink-haired girl's shoulder, and Sakura did nothing to move, or shake it off.

"Why did I pass out again?" I inquired, suspiciously eyeing the two women. "And what have you two been up to while I was out?" The question was directed at the blonde who hadn't spoken a word to me yet. Ino just glared at me coldly, and slid her arm off Sakura's shoulders, who – in reaction – stepped away.

"Tenten… you're not still thinking that… are you?" I nodded, my grin spreading wider across my face as I smiled slyly at them. I was laughing inwardly, and laughing so hard that I thought my stomach was going to explode if I didn't let it out. Oh, this will be amazing blackmail material. "… Tenten… its not like that."

Sakura was looking very nervous, while everyone else – excluding Hinata, who was still sobbing uncontrollably, and hugging me – was looking very confused.

"What?" Shikamaru asked, looking from my smug expression to a shaking, enraged Ino, and a very nervous looking Sakura. I turned to him, peeling a crying Hinata away from my body, and settling her down beside me, but she still managed to hug me, even when I stuck my arm out to protect myself. I really didn't like to be touched. Especially, by other women. I glanced pleadingly at Neji, who grudgingly obliged by taking Hinata by the shoulders, and becoming her next hugging victim. I thanked him a nod, and _finally_ turned to Pineapple Boy.

"Tell me, Shikamaru…" I started mysteriously, leaning my elbows on my knees, and staring him right in the eye, to see if he was lying or not. He looked back at me lazily, his eyes almost closing. "Have Ino and Sakura been… absent together after I passed out?" But, the lazy boy didn't even blink. Instead, he raised himself from his slouching position in the chair, and shot a glance at the two girls, who were standing at the opposite ends of the room.

"Yeah." He said after a short while, and his response was followed by a heart-felt yawn, and he leaned back into his chair. I felt my eye twitch. Wasn't exactly the answer I was expecting, but still… evidence.

"Hehehe…" I chuckled, almost maliciously and Shikamaru was already snoring soundly in his chair. "Right! Anyways…" I decided to cut the girls some slack. I knew they weren't lesbians, it was just fun to mess with them. "How long have I been out?"

"About four hours," A different voice answered, and I turned to look just in time to see Sasuke come into the room, in his hand holding a bottle of water.

"Four _hours_?" I asked, my eyes widening in the process. Wow. I didn't even remember why I passed out. I look over to the Uchiha, and my expression must have been so surprised, that he even looked taken aback. "W-w-what… why?"

"'Cause the dobe kissed you," He shrugged, taking a sip from the water bottle. The dobe… Naruto? _Naruto kissed me?!_ I was on the verge of screaming out in disgust, and I looked around the room wildly, but I wasn't able to find a sunny, blonde head.

"Naruto… Naruto… Naruto? Where is Naruto?" He definitely wasn't the in my room.

"He's in the room next door."

"Why? How did he get hurt?"

"Sakura..." I sighed loudly as Sasuke cast the pink-haired girl a look."...beat him up so bad after you passed out, that the medics thought he was in a worse condition than you were, and apparently there was something big going on in your brain that got the doctors worried. But, then it just turned out to be a dream… Were you having a dream?"

I blinked at him, and didn't speak for while – mostly of shock. Since when did Sasuke get so talkative? That's the longest I have _ever_ heard him speak. Ever. I glanced around to see no reaction whatsoever from the others.

Neji, for one thing, was holding Hinata close to him because apparently, she had cried herself to sleep, and was practically making Neji pick her up in his arms – practically. I almost felt envious.

Shikamaru was snoring soundly in the chair, his chin still red for a reason still couldn't figure out. Ino was staring at the Nara's sleeping form with something I could only interpret as… admiration? Sakura was watching Sasuke with a sort of hatred in her emerald eyes, while he seemed very oblivious of everything around him, at the same time keeping his face as stoic as he possibly could.

"Uhh…" I broke the awkward silence that was settling upon the room. I stood up, and stepped over to Neji who was looking very annoyed and frustrated. "Neji, why don't you put Hinata-san down on the bed? I'll go check on Naruto."

I helped Neji put the sleeping girl down on the bed, and glanced at him as the Hyuuga watched his little cousin like hawk, and just as she shifted so her back was facing him, Neji looked over to me with that same over-protective gaze. For a moment, our eyes met and I felt small as he towered over me, but at the same time – I felt safe. But, before I knew what I was doing, I turned away, even though I didn't want to. It felt nice to be acknowledged by Neji, but you can never have too much of a good thing.

As I made a move for the door, a strong hand caught me by the arm. I tried to jerk away, but the grip was iron. I sighed, and lowered my head in forced defeat.

"Let go of me, Neji. I want to see Naruto." I tried to move once again, but he didn't budge. Now, I was really pissed off. After passing out for more than four hours, then being almost chocked to death by a crying Hinata, then finding out Sasuke had the ability to speak, I was more than pissed off. I was… _really angry_. "Let go of me, Hyuuga." I jerked my arm more forcefully, but he didn't even move a muscle – instead, he just tightened his grip on my arm, and it was definitely going to leave a bruise.

With a low hiss, I whirled around, and slammed my heel on Neji's toes, and watching him flinch gave me a sort of satisfaction. I concealed a smirk that was warning to pop on my lips as the Hyuuga boy's eye closed in pain. Though, unfortunately for him, he still wasn't letting go. And that pushed me over the edge.

"I said, _let me go._" With every syllable I ground my heel down on Neji's toes, but he just tightened his grip on my arm in return.

"No." His voice was dangerous, and angered. Though, it was only one word and he said with a quiet tone, it wouldn't have made a difference if he shouted it in my face. "The doctor said you should stay in bed."

"The doctor?" I inquired, and he just glared at me from the top of his nose. "I don't care about what the doctor said! I never met this doctor!"

"Fine." He twisted my arm in a painful angle, making me snarl a curse at him. "_I_ said you have to stay in bed."

I smirked. "Since when did I start listening to you?" I wrenched my arm out of his grip, and glared daggers at him when Neji didn't resist. "Bastard." I rubbed the where a red hand print was starting to show grudgingly, and faced Neji with the most victorious look I could muster. In truth, I was very tired. That little fight in that certain white-eyed _bastard_ took a lot out of me. My muscles were aching, and it felt as if my spine cracked in half as I straightened my back. "I'm older than you, Hyuuga. You should respect your superiors." I was about to say 'elders', but stopped myself just in time to replace that word. I didn't know if Neji noticed it or not, but I just didn't care at the moment. He caused me enough emotional trauma than he would ever know, and I didn't faint because Naruto kissed me. It actually felt pretty nice.

I fainted because I caught a glimpse of rage in Neji's eyes, and as the darkness overwhelmed, only one thought echoed in my mind throughout those four, long, unbearable hours.

_How dare he?_

* * *

"Naruto! How're you feeling?"

"I'm okay, Tenten-chan." He flashed me one of this grins, but I could see it was causing him a lot of pain. He was a total mess! Scratches and bruises littered all of his face. He had two black eyes, and as far as I could see – a broken nose, a broken arm, a twisted ankle and a bruised knee, because all of those were either wrapped in a cast or bandages. He had a bloody lip but that was all I could see, because everything else was tightly wrapped in bandages.

I could help the tears that started to form in my eyes, but I kept them in bay with all of the self-control I still had left. He looked miserable, and broken, and much smaller than he really was. Naruto was actually taller than me, but seeing him like this only made my heart ache more. Sakura will pay. Dearly. And she won't end up like Naruto, but much, much, much worse.

_I promise to send her to her grave,_ I managed to give Naruto a sad smile.

"Don't, Tenten-chan." His sudden statement startled me.

"What, Naruto?" I couldn't help but pity him. He was just such a miserable sight.

"Don't look at me like that. I don't need your pity. I'm fine, Tenten-chan, really. I'm fine."

"How can you be fine?!" I cried out, jumping to my feet in an instant. "You're not _fine_! Naruto, look at yourself! You're a freaking living corpse! You got broken bones –"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Naruto was waving his arms around wildly, starting at my incredulously. "Who said anything about broken bones, Tenten-chan? Nothing's broken!"

I stared at him, my arms in the air, and my expression astonished.

"Nothing's broken?" I repeated, and he nodded vigorously.

"Yes, Tenten-chan! I told you! I'm fine!" He laughed aloud, watching me stomp back towards the chair beside his bed. I slumped down onto it, breathing quite heavily, since I was still very tired.

"But, the casts—"

Naruto interrupted me. "What casts?" I nodded towards his legs. "Tenten-chan. Those are my socks." I blinked once again. And once I looked a bit closer, I found that, yes, they were his socks. Though, they still looked extremely, suspiciously like casts. I asked him if he was sure, and Naruto said he was positive, and if he had a cast on his legs, he would definitely know. I poked his leg, and felt nothing hard beneath the sock, so I calmed down slightly.

"Still," I said. "Look what Sakura did—"

"Sakura-chan? Sakura-chan didn't do this to me. That bastard Neji did." I opened my mouth to protest, but stopped myself. After a short while, I tried to close it, but it just wouldn't budge, so I had to actually shut it closed with my hand – at this, Naruto gave me a very strange look.

"Neji?" I finally said, and Naruto nodded. After another moment of staring into his bright, cerulean eyes, I stood up curtly, and exited the room, leaving a very bewildered looking Naruto.

* * *

I opened the door to my own room to find all of the band members gathered around something – or rather, someone. I cleared my throat, and everyone looked at me, and I finally saw that someone everyone was gathered around. She was a tall, beautiful woman with long blonde hair separated into two pig tails, and strangely dark brown eyes, much like my own.

"Ah! Tenten-san!" The woman said as she stood up from my bed, and I finally saw how tall she really was. She was at least 6'2", and to tell you the truth, I got severely frightened. "I'm Tsunade, head medic at this hospital." I just nodded, looking up at her, and I was sure that my eyes were larger than basketballs. "I have good news! I asked your friends about your behavior since you've woken up, and everything seems normal, so you are free to leave today."

I just nodded again. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama." Then, I quickly walked past her, to stop right in front of Neji. "May I talk to you outside for a second, Neji-kun?" I asked with a sickeningly sweet voice, making it clear that I was being very serious. Hyuuga Neji, being the bastard he is, pointedly ignored me and just stared blankly at the wall behind me. I felt my blood boil angrily. "Please, Neji-kun? Outside? For a second? _Now_?" He was still ignoring me, this time turning his back on me. "_Now, Neji-**kun**. _Before I rip your precious hair out?" And with those last words, I grabbed a handful of his extremely long hair, and dragged him outside. This time _I_ was ignoring his growled protests.

Once outside, I let go out of his hair, and the moment he turned to face me, I slapped him across his face_ hard_. Hard enough to make him stumble back, and hit the wall at least five feet behind him. A bright red mark was burning on his cheek, and his milky-white eyes flared up immediately. There were even veins sticking out about them. If looks could kill, I'd've been worse than dead. There'd've been nothing left of me. If only looks could kill, Neji would be nothing but a bloody pulp on the floor. Oh, how I wished that looks could kill.

"What the fuck?!" He yelled, rubbing his cheek, but only making it redder.

"What the fuck?! Don't 'what the fuck' me, Hyuuga! Why the _hell_ did you do that to Naruto?" I pointed sharply at his door, from where descended loud snoring.

"He freaking kissed you!" Neji practically screeched.

"Well, it's not like he did it on purpose! Ever thought of that, Hyuuga?"

He opened his mouth, but closed it curtly. Apparently, he didn't think. No, he didn't think at all. The veins around his eyes made him look freaky, especially when they were moving sinisterly, but that's what happened to Neji's eyes when he got really angry. Never ever come close to Neji when he's really angry. Not many survive. I was an exception, and only because I was equally enraged.

"No, I didn't."

"Exactly." The veins around Neji's eyes disappeared, and he looked at me with an almost apologetic expression.

"I'm sorry." Neji was never sorry, but I didn't take notice of that. I was still fuming.

"Don't say sorry to me, Neji. Go apologize to him." I nodded my head towards Naruto's door, where loud snoring was still echoing, but it was long gone. Naruto was awake. I could feel his eyes through the door.

But, Neji resisted. And then, I grabbed his hair once again, shoved him through the door, and made him apologize to Naruto until I was satisfied.

* * *

**Ooh! That was… a… fiery chapter!**

_**Explanations:**_

I still didn't get any questions, so I'm guessing everybody understood everything!

**Songs I'm planning on using:**

_Scratch out My World, white-out it, wait until it dries, then write I'd Do Anything – Simple Plan._


	4. Apologies, Kisses and Barefoot Escapes!

**Hoo-hoo! Hi, everyone! Thank you for all of those reviews! That's the most I have EVER gotten! That doesn't make me sound too good, does it? Ah, well! Next chapter! HERE IT COMES!**

**Oh, and sorry if I don't answer some of the question. I only won't answer the question that are WAY too obvious. **

* * *

"_Ne, ne Tenten-chan! What's **he** doing here?" Naruto glared coldly at the Hyuuga beside me, who was looking away pointedly, obviously not in the mood._

"_Naruto! He's here to apologize for what he did to you! Right, Neji-**kun**?" _

"_No." I elbowed Neji sharply in the ribs, making him jump. "I mean… hn, whatever."_

"_**Right, Neji-kun?!**" My voice was dangerous, and loud – almost ear-splitting, as Neji described to me later on. I grinned evilly as Neji mumbled a soft 'Yes', before turning away once again. Naruto stared at me as if I had just escaped from an insane asylum, because the look on my face made _me_ laugh after I had done it in front of a mirror._

_Naruto cleared his throat uncomfortably, and shifted in his bed, wincing as he settled on a seemingly tender spot. That made me look at him with light sadness, but in return I received a pitiful 'Don't, Tenten-chan,' and I immediately got back to the task at hand._

"_Now, Neji-kun… just like we rehearsed…" I nudged Neji painfully, making him jump again, and when he didn't speak, I made a threatening motion towards his hair, and he quickly stepped away, a frightened look on his face._

"_Naruto, I'm sorry that I beat you to a bloody pulp, I was a dickhead and I won't ever do it again. Ever." I stepped on the Hyuuga's toes. "Ever." He repeated through gritted teeth, and I pinched his arm. "Ever. Ever. Ever."_

"_Err… Thank you," Naruto said, with a pathetically bewildered expression on his face. He looked scared, and he pushed farther into his pillows in a try to get as far away from Neji as he possibly could, but I kept the Hyuuga there, holding him in place as he tried to run for the door._

"_Say it," I said firmly, grabbing his ear with two fingers and pinching. Neji hissed._

"_Say what?" He growled throatily, wincing as I pulled on his ear._

"_Say it!"_

"_Say wh—I'm sorry!" Neji whined the words out of his mouth and he yelled it out every time I pulled on his ear. And even **I** learned a great lesson. If you want guys to say something they don't want to say, pull on their ears and they'll say it until they die._

_And so it continues…_

_Pull. "I'm sorry!"_

"_No, you're not."_

_Pull. "I'm sorry!"_

"_No, you're not."_

_Sharp tug. "I'm freaking sorry already!"_

_I smiled devilishly. "That's better. Now, why are you sorry?"_

"_Because I killed Naruto—"_

_I practically tore off Neji's ear. "He doesn't look dead to me."_

"_Because I **almost** killed Naruto—"_

"_He doesn't look like he's dying to me, either." I wiggled his ear playfully. He growled at me, and glared at me with such loathing… Oh, if only looks could kill, I'd be dead already._

"_Because I hurt Naruto."_

"_Good boy." I patted the top of Neji's head with my free hand, and I could have sworn he tried to bite me. I jerked my hand away quickly, and gave his ear a very sharp tug. "Getting desperate, are we?" He snarled a curse. I smirked in a very Hyuuga Neji-like way, and he scowled. He was getting a taste of his own medicine, and I couldn't have been more satisfied. "Now, Neji-kun…" He frowned at me distastefully. I knew he hated that nickname of his. "Why did you hurt Naruto?"_

"_Because he kissed you." I could hear bitterness in Neji's voice, and looked away, but there was also something that was masked beneath the cold bitterness. Was it… regret?_

_I studied the part of the Hyuuga's face that was still visible to me. His eyes were lowered, and his teeth were almost bared. What was he regretting? Was he regretting beating up Naruto? If so, then… why? Or… was he regretting yelling at me?_

_My hand dropped to my side, and I expected Neji to run for the door, but instead, he just sighed and stayed where he was. I glanced at Naruto, and I saw something in his expression… his face… it was probably something I'd never understand. Men are just too complicated._

_I felt something heavy settle on my shoulders, and my heart skipped a bit. A slightly happiness filled me for a moment, but it vanished quickly as I realized that that heaviness on my shoulders wasn't on the outside, but on the inside. My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach, and I felt sick. And before I knew it, I was being dragged outside by the arm, and I was whirled around to face the one man I didn't want to see._

* * *

"N-Neji…" I stared into his cold, white eyes feeling small, intimidated. The regret I've seen before had disappeared, and was replaced by freezing rage. I wanted to run and not look at him again, but my body wasn't moving. I was trapped, cornered. Why did I have to do that… humiliate him? Is that why he looked angry? Well, he deserved it!

"Tenten," His voice was firm, soft, but not dangerous like the last time. It was serious. It was the tone he used when he was telling the truth. That tone that made me want to kill myself on the spot. I felt pinned by his unwavering gaze, and every time he used that tone, he only spoke to me.

I should have felt flattered, because that tone was unique, and it usually told me what he wanted to say without actually saying anything… but this time, I couldn't quite figure out what he wanted to tell me. I should have felt flattered, but instead I felt as if he was strangling me with his bare hands. It was hard to breathe, and I wanted to gasp but I suppressed the sudden urge. I stared at him, and felt the blood drain from my face as his face darkened. It was never a good sign.

"Tenten," He repeated, but this time, softer and gentler. Suddenly, his face was less than a millimeter away from mine, and his forehead was pressed against mine, and our lips were brushing. I gasped, as he captured my lips possessively, claiming them as his own. I was surprised for a moment, but soon gave into the kiss, and closed my eyes. My knees buckled underneath my weight, and I felt myself fall, but Neji snaked his arm around my waist for support and pushed me into his chest.

Once our lips separated, I felt faint, though very disappointed that it had to end so soon. I looked up at Neji, and watched as his eyes started to shine with something that looked suspiciously like lust. I just stared at him breathlessly, my lungs working furiously, but not able to get enough air to allow me to breathe properly.

"Tenten," His voice was very close to my ear now, and I found myself staring into his mane of long, brown hair, which smelled like… strawberries. I made a mental note to myself to tease him about his choice of shampoo, but at the moment I just didn't care. Neji was close… so close… and he had just given me the kiss I've been dreaming of for months on end… is this true? Or is it still that same dream? I pinched my hand, and winced slightly. No, it wasn't a dream. _Thank god…_ "I don't want anyone else kissing you, but me." He sounded serious, possessive, and all I could do was nod. "I don't want anyone else holding you, but me." I nodded again. I felt safe… protected… there in his arms. "I don't want any other man talking to you, but me."

At this, I pushed away from him, flaring up at once. "What do you mean, Neji?" I growled, a hand pushing him away as he tried to hold on to me again.

"Precisely what I said." I raised a brow at his unclear answer.

"What about Naruto?"

"Especially him." Neji had now stopped struggling to get to me, and just crossed his arms, watching me from the top of his nose. I frowned at him. So he still thinks he's in charge, eh? I grabbed two fistfuls of his shirt, and pulled his face close to mine. From there I glared daggers directly into his eyes, but almost drowning in his snowy, lustful…

"Don't you dare look down at me, Hyuuga," I hissed at him, not realizing our close proximities. He just grinned maliciously at me grabbed my lips with his own for a quick kiss, but I pulled away sharply, making his grin widen. "You're sick."

"Hn," He hummed, straightening his back for he had to bend down to kiss me. I'm quite a bit shorter than him. Then, with the quickest motion, he scooped me up in his arms – bridal style, but I was prepared for it. I grabbed his ear and gave it a pull, causing Neji to drop me. I landed square on my feet.

"Rule number one," I muttered seductively, dragging his ear down so I whispering into it. "_Never_ take advantage of your superiors, not matter what height they are. Right, Neji?"

He smirked, and I let go of his ear. Just as I was about to turn away, I felt his forehead bump against mine, but not hard, and I found myself staring into the milky-white depths of his eyes. "It's Neji-_kun_."

* * *

I stepped into my hospital room, where the rest of the gang was waiting, Neji trailing extremely close behind me. I swear, he was actually stepping on my heels! I shot him a cold glare as he 'accidentally' stepped on my heel again, but he took no notice of me whatsoever. That infuriated me, and I managed to step on his toes on my way to the bed, where Hinata-san was sitting up in, staring blankly at us as we entered.

"What took you so long?" I glanced at Sakura, who watched me with a look of dawning comprehension as I quickly gestured towards Neji's still hand-printed cheek. "Oh… I see…" I nodded curtly, keeping my face as carefully blank as possible – something I learned from that certain white-eyed _bastardly_ individual who decided to charm me into his arms, and then kiss me senseless.

"Ugh," I sighed disgustedly, scolding myself for being so weak and gullible. Neji gave me a questioning look, but I ignored him. I fell down onto the bed, glaring daggers at anything that I laid my eyes on.

First, it was Neji, who seated himself between Hinata-san and myself on the bed, and was looking at me questioningly still. Then, at Shikamaru who was still sitting on the chair, looking very satisfied with himself – and Ino who was stroking his head softly, looking bored. Then, at Sakura who was watching me with a knowing smirk, and Sasuke who was eyeing Sakura with an almost hungry expression. He looked away immediately after he had seen I spotted him. I scoffed at him, bringing much unwanted attention to myself, and Sasuke shot me a warning look which I disregarded in the most painful way I could possible think off.

"Say, Sakura," I started, and Sasuke waved his hands wildly at me. I ignored him completely, just as I ignored the totally pissed off Hyuuga at my side, who was looking at me apathetically. "I noticed Sasuke staring at you. Is there something going on with you two?"

Sasuke made a motion of choking me, but I just continued to look at Sakura, suppressing a smirk. She blinked at me, brushed a pink lock out of her face, and looked over her shoulder at the Uchiha, who turned his back on both of us, his arms crossed. Blinking again, Sakura just shrugged.

"Is there?" She asked. It was my turn to blink stupidly. I would have thought Sakura would have put up a bigger fight with Sasuke. My predictions were correct as I watched the pink-haired girl call on Sasuke, who still didn't answer. "Sasuke-kun?" Sakura walked up to him. "Sasuke-kun." She tapped him on the shoulder. The Uchiha jumped, and whirled around, his dark eyes wide.

"Huh?"

"Why were you staring?"

Sasuke gulped, and shot me a nervous glance. "I…uhh… gotta go to the bathroom!"

"S-Sasuke-kun?" The Haruno raced after as Sasuke slammed the sliding door off into the wall, making a considerably big dent.

"I'm gonna go check on Naruto-kun." Hinata's timid voice was slightly off its usual tune, and she stood up, and dreamily followed the other two down the hall. The screams and shouts of 'Sasuke-kun!' and 'Get off my case, Sakura!' still echoed in the hall when the sliding door to Naruto's room closed.

After a minute or two of silence, I had an urge to exit the hospital room, out of which I was already signed out, anyways. I wasn't supposed to be here… but, Tsunade-sama would have kicked me out already, wouldn't have she?

"I need to go to the washroom," I muttered, abruptly standing up from the bed, making Neji jump. "Excuse me." I felt his glare at the back of my head, but walked on nonetheless. I seriously had to leave all that… silence… behind. As I stepped out of my room, I gasped the fresh, tension-free air, and felt satisfied for the first time. _The air was breathable._ It had to be some sort of miracle.

I leaned against the wall behind me, and slid down it until I was sitting on the floor, resting my head on my knees. I closed my eyes, and started to doze off until I felt something on my shoulder. Something heavy. I opened an eye heavily, and almost screamed at the sight of the Hyuuga's perfectly white eyes right in front of mine. I knew I would have yelled if Neji's hand was clapped against my mouth.

"Com'n. Let's get out of here. I'm getting bored." I glared at him as he helped me up, and for some unknown reason, practically flew towards the exit door! The only thing I could do was snarl curses at him, until I realized that my feet weren't feeling too comfortable.

"Neji!" I whined, tugging at his arm as he opened the door. "I need to get my shoes!"

* * *

**Hoorah! My dear friends! ZE CHAPTER IZ FEENEESHED!! Bee haappee!**

_**Explanations:**_

La la la la! La la! La la! La la la la! La la! La la! And that will continue for a while! Anyways... No, Tenten did NOT have her shoes on the entire time she was in the hospital, because... somehow, she had lost the feeling in her feet, and only discovered that when she actually started to think about how her feet would feel if she started to run down the street with nothing but socks on. Not very good, I think. Also. Naruto was not beaten up too much. Only a couple of bruises and scratches. I'm surprised I didn't make Neji violent in this. Hinata was dreamy and whatever because she had only just awoken from her little crying-herself-to-sleep incident, and yes she was asleep when Tsunade came around. Ino was stroking Shikamaru's hair because... he... needed... a head... massage? I guess.

_Songs - as usual._

Okay! I will be deciding on the list until I write the concert chapters which shouldn't be too far away. I hope you realized that Ino, Sakura and Tenten _are_ dancer, and the band's name will be revealed at the time of concert chapters!

_Shut Up - Simple Plan_

_Harmonia - Rythem_

_Far Away - Nickelback_

_I'd Do Anything - Simple Plan_

_The Reason - Hoobastank_

_A Thousand Miles - Vanessa Carlton_

_U + Ur Hand - Pink_

_How To Save A Life - The Fray_

_Rockstar (Already used.) - Nickelback._

I choose the songs by the voice of the characters. When I hear the right voice, and it matches the setting and all the rest, and I like the song, I choose it. Some of them might be old. Some of them might be new, I don't care. Whatever. Just as long as I am satisfied. Also, I will be writing a separate chapter for each song.

**Goals:**

My goal is thirty reviews of the entire story. Of course, the goal will be raised in numbers by the chapters, and I'm hoping to get hundred at the most by the end. Please review and help me with my goal! Thank you very much! READ AND REVIEW NO JUTSU! And by the way, I know my goal sounds a bit selfish, but please bear with me. .

-- Symphie!


	5. Cinderella doesn't need Fairy God Mother

**Here it is, ladies and gentlemen! The one chapter you all have been waiting for! GODAIME CHAPTER, EVERYONE! IT IS HERE! FINALLY UPDATED! Oh, and thank you so much to everyone who helped me accomplish my first goal and more! Next goal shall be forty-five reviews! . Com'n, everyone! You can do it! Or… I SHALL NOT WRITE ANYMORE! AHAHAH!! I'm so selfish. Don't worry, that was an empty threat.**

* * *

Once I got my shoes, my socks and my coat – which took quite while to find, and I finally found it under the bed in my hospital room – Neji, once again, half-dragged, half-carried me outside. I didn't want to be outside. It was cold and damp. It was the middle of February, for freakin' God's sake! But, no. That _insensitive bastard_ _**made**_ me go outside.

It rarely snowed in Konoha, let alone, all of Japan. No, it actually… almost never snowed in Konoha. It was rarely ever cloudy. The skies were usually spotless and a perfect blue and that almost always pissed me off. Why did the sky have to be so perfectly blue? Why did the sky have to be damn spotless? Why did have to be called sky… let alone… heaven?

I blinked a couple of times as my eyes adjusted to the brightly shining sun, which blinded me the second I looked out. It was early morning on a perfect Sunday, February twelfth – two days before the concert. I didn't want to be at the concert, but I was wanted there. By the band, by the fans… by that_ insensitive bastard who was walking beside me_. No, they would drag me there. Even if they have to kill me. I didn't like February the Fourteenth. I never liked that day in my entire life. February the Fourteenth was the worst day on the calendar of Doom. Valentine's Day.

"Tenten?" I looked up, never realizing that I had stopped walking. He was standing in front of me, his hands in his pockets, his long hair flying gently in the soft breeze, which also turned to be sickeningly cold, but yet… He seemed so… "Tenten." I blinked, not realizing that I had been staring.

"What?"

"Don't 'what' me. I should be asking that." His voice was cold, but I could hear past that. Concern. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing." He glared at me, but I could see past that. Worry.

"It's not 'nothing', Tenten."

"It is nothing."

"Tell me what's—"

"No." I felt strange… like a bird who had been trapped for years and years, but then suddenly… was set free. It's that feeling of surprise and excitement, yet fear, and wanting to go back. I wanted to go back to my cage, and sit there… in its safety. The world is frightening to a naturally caged bird, and it would not fly out of the cage if the door was suddenly opened and only because, it feels safe being trapped. That's how I felt, and that feeling overwhelmed me ever since that moment… that moment when I felt safe within that scent of strawberries… and his soft voice. "Drop it." I whispered, grabbing on his arm and wrapping myself around it. I started walking again, slowly but determinedly.

I knew he was surprised by my sudden gesture, I felt him tense beneath my touch, but he relaxed the instant I started walking. I wanted to read his mind, but I wasn't able to look up at him and watch the emotion in his eyes. I just couldn't bring myself to do so. I was scared. I didn't know why.

"Neji?" Maybe it was time to lighten up my mood.

"Hmm?"

"Why does your hair smell like strawberries?" I felt him tense and almost tripped over my own feet when he stopped abruptly. If it wasn't for me holding on to his arm more possessively than a predator holding onto its prey, then I would have probably fallen on my face – which could have resulted in a broken nose, and another stay at the hospital. I kept my footing, thanks to Neji, who was quick enough to catch me and himself so we both wouldn't fall down. Pasting on a smirk, I looked up at him for the first time since we were outside. "Well?"

"Shut up." He growled, looking away. I couldn't suppress my own snickering.

"That doesn't answer my question, Hyuuga. Let's try that again, then… ne?" I felt the evil side of me take over, and I was sure that there was something maniacal sparkling in my eyes, because Neji's eyes widened beyond reason, and he leaned as far from as he could – without moving his feet. Was I really that frightening? "Well?"

"Fine," He muttered, and turned away, but I caught the slight pink tinge on his cheeks and neck, and I couldn't help but feel triumphant.

"Aww… Is Neji-kun _blushing_?" He turned back to face me quite suddenly. I nearly fell! Again.

"One question at a time, Tenten." He hissed, and jerked his head away again. I couldn't help a smirk, but pasted a casual expression onto my face, and waited. "My hair smells like strawberries becauseIlikethesmellanditwastheonlygoodqualityshampooleftinthestoresoHinata-samaboughtforme. I didn't ask for it." I blinked. And blinked again. And again. I almost couldn't stop myself, until Neji turned back to me, his white eyes just as unemotional as ever. "And I wasn't blushing."

"Alright…" I let go of his arm, and he waved it around for bit with a deep sigh of relief. "Neji." He turned to face me again. "What?"

I almost laughed out when he slapped a hand over his face. Damn, he could talk fast when he was nervous – and _blushing_.

* * *

"Tenten."

"Hmm?"

We were walking in the park, and it was _cold_. The February winds surely weren't very forgiving. I wrapped my arms around myself to try to keep warm, and glanced at the Hyuuga walking in step beside me. I can say it this time. He was so… per—

"You wanna come to the club with me tonight?" Well, that was slightly… unusual. Since when did Neji start talking me out to clubs? Oh, yeah… since today. I smiled gleefully, and nodded vigorously. "Apparent—"

"I'll come! Are the Sound Four going to be performing there?" I inquired thoughtfully, rubbing my hands over my freezing arms. My hands were numb. It didn't feel good. Now, that I think about it… It wasn't that cold last morning.

"How'd you know?" His voice was just below bewilderment and near speechless surprise. I sighed, and eyed the boy accusingly.

"I've been their fan since, like… for_eveh!_" I took a sharp intake of breath and it got caught in my throat. Before I knew it, I doubled over and coughing _very_ loudly. Neji slapped my back, and I gasped. I could finally breathe, but my throat felt sore. I cleared it, but it only brought more pain, and let out one last cough, before turning to Neji, who was staring at me with such big eyes, they could surpass the moon up-close. He was also… not breathing. His face was turning blue. Maybe he would start choking and die, and then I'd kill myself from pain and agony of his death, and we would be together in the seventh cloud, and FINALLY go to the club he asked me to go to? I do have a wild imagination, excuse. "Neji?" He didn't even blink. "Neji-kun?" Not a single sound. I waved a hand in front of his face. Nada. "Oi, Hyuuga? You alive?"

Fear was written all over and across his face. I even tried pinching his nose. "Neji? I'm okay." He sighed very, very, very deeply. He even lowered his head, and put his hands on his knees to steady himself. "Are _you_ okay, genius?" He nodded, before shooting me a glare, but I could still interpret that signal. Worry and relief.

"Oh, yeah." He straightened himself up, brushed off his jacket, and cracked his neck. I winced at the sickening sound of bones cracking, and I swallowed down a rather stubborn lump at the back of my throat. I had enough emotional and mental traumas for one lifetime. That was enough. And all I needed to top it off and go completely insane is Neji breaking his neck and LITERALLY dying right in front of me. Thankfully, he didn't break his neck and didn't go down in my arms. Instead, he just glanced at me, one of his dark (and I was sure he shaped them) eyebrows cocked at me mockingly. I never learned that trick. How the hell does he do it? "When did you start speaking like that?"

I shrugged nonchalantly, though I felt suddenly confused. "When _did_ I start speaking like that?" I was sure he rolled his eyes, though you can never tell with him. "Shut up, genius."

"I didn't say anything."

"Shut up anyways."

He just _snorted_ at me. How dare he _snort_ at me? Though, I have to admit – he did sound like one disgusting pig.

"So… are the Sound Four going to be singing?" I asked, starting to rub my hands over my arms again, crossing them over my chest. I resisted the urge to hug myself. Yes, it was _that_ bloody cold. The damned Hyuuga must have noticed, since he wrapped an arm protectively around my shoulder, and I immediately felt overly warm. Feminism be damned. I never blush.

"Yes." His reply was curt and short, making me wonder. But, I just brushed the wonder off. He was never much of a conversationalist.

"Hmm. Good."

We strayed through the park. It was a beautiful place, even with the trees all bare and leaf-less, it was still wonderful. Squirrels – those little devils freak the living shit out of me… if shit is living – jumped around happily. One actually got close enough to touch my personal space bubble for me to interpret it as invasion of said personal space bubble, and therefore proceed to Jump, Scream, and Climb onto Neji in Utter Fear Operation, and scaring the squirrel just as much as I was frightened of it. Neji, at this point, was redder than a ripe tomato, or it seemed like he had gone to the sun for a vacation and had gotten a really bad face burn. I, being the usual me, had made fun of him, and he nearly threw a squirrel in my face. It was a good day. Yes, very good.

It was about five p.m. by the time we made to the other side of the park (and had started at 10 a.m. …. wow.). Our day was colored with various adventures including – The Attack of the Squirrel, Ice Cream in Freezing Cold and Resulting in Slightly Frostbitten Brains, Fun and Memorable Vacation to a Tree – translation: A Fun Day Tree Climbing and Many Scratches on Many Body Parts – Slipping on Ice and Falling on a Creature of the Neji, also known as Falling On Top of Neji Who Started Stuttering Worse than his Little Cousin, and many other very entertaining, or otherwise frightening experiences. The Hyuuga was exhausted by that time, and nearly fell over when I still had more energy than a freaking pack mule, and those tend to have a lot of energy, even though they seem lazy.

The sun was setting, painting the sky a brilliant blood-red, giving me an uneasy feeling. I'm hematophobic, or I'm afraid of blood. I can't stand it. The last time I saw blood was when I had to take a blood test, and I fainted just at the sight of the needle in my skin. I have a lot of different phobias, and, being myself, I was curious enough to find them all on the Internet… or at least, their names. I have found out that I am arachnophobic, or I am afraid of spiders. I absolutely HATE them, as well as any other bug. Also, being the curious me, I found a really long word – Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia. You'll never guess what that phobia is. Never in Hell. It's fear of long words.

Neji, being the insensitive bastard he is, had noticed my expression – which I tried hard to maintain, since I don't like feeling weak, which also brings me to another phobia, Asthenophobia, fear of weakness – asked me what was wrong.

"I'm hematophobic." I replied quietly, staring at the bloody sunset, and feeling my skin crawl. Ooh, blood was never my strong point.

"You're afraid of blood?" I just nodded silently, not even looking up at the man beside me. I didn't want to know what I would see there. Pity? No, pity wasn't my strong point either.

To my surprise, I heard him chuckle. I couldn't help but widen my eyes, before narrowing them, and giving the Hyuuga the deadliest glare I could muster. It must have been intimidating, because he stopped immediately after he saw me. "Relax," He muttered, raising a hand in defense. "I am too."

"You're what too?"

"Hematophobic."

"Really?"

"Hmm."

"Huh." I sighed.

"But—" Here it is. "I'm not afraid of sunsets."

"Hey!" I started defensively, whirling around to point an accusing finger in the Hyuuga's face. "They remind me of blood! I'm not _afraid_ of sunsets; they're just a bit…" I swallowed. "…bloody."

Neji smiled knowingly, and nodded ever-so-slightly, before turning to look back at the sky. I followed his example, and gasped softly. The colors had changed from crimson red, so the brightest orange, enlaced with golden and pink streaks. The clouds that floated about were colored instantly from the whitest of snow to the brightest of gold. It was all so beautiful; I hadn't realized the time had passed so quickly.

I tore my eyes from the now practically black sky, and glanced at the watch on Neji's hand, which started to beep annoyingly. The Hyuuga raised his wrist, and eyed the vexing watch, before clicking a button, and making the thing shut up.

"Six." He muttered dryly, eyeing his wrist rather menacingly.

"What time does the club open?"

"Seven." I blinked.

"Is it exactly six?"

Neji shook his long-haired head. "Six-oh-one." I shot him an annoyed glare, before shaking my head, and stepping towards the exit out of the park. I had only made it a couple of steps forward before something – something _warm_, mind – caught my arm and twirled me around.

"Wha—_mmf!_" Neji's lips met mine, and his arm snaked around my waist possessively. I ignored the shock and surprise that I felt when the Hyuuga practically glomped me, and closed my eyes, responding to the kiss. Neji's tongue shot out to lick my bottom lip, and I let out a soft "Mmm…" in spite of myself. He just tasted too good.

When our lips separated, I shot a viciously smirking Neji a distasteful glance, before licking my own lips seductively. "Hmm." I hummed, giving him a once-over, only seeing part of him, since it was quite dark. My mouth still held the sweet taste of the long-haired man before me, and he tasted suspiciously like cotton candy. Ah, the man never seizes to amaze me. I decided to investigate this new case.

"Tell me, Neji," I started, grabbing onto his arm again, like the early morning. We slowly walked down the street, the moon lighting the somewhat deserted streets. Couples still littered the town, couples just like us – aloof and oblivious. "Do you like cotton candy?" Neji must have sensed where I was going, for he gave me one of his sly little smiles before answering. "Oh, I absolutely _adore_ it."

I laughed out. "I swear Neji - you're girlier than I am."

"If I knew better, I would say that you were a man, Tenten." I smiled and shrugged nonchalantly. It wasn't rare of others to think of me as a boy. It happened all the time actually.

"Then, if you're calling me a man, wouldn't you be calling yourself gay?"

He just glanced at me and returned his pearlescent gaze back to the road before him. "Perhaps. I don't have anything against homosexuality, if that's what you mean." I frowned.

"No, it's not what I meant."

"I'm not accusing you, Tenten."

"You better not be, if you want your ear to still be connected to your head, genius."

"You're rather violent. Why don't you consider female wrestling? It would the perfect sport for you. Dancing for a band just doesn't match your blood-thirsty personality." I stiffened. "That's not what I meant."

"I know," I replied, letting my voice to soften, and I felt my body relax. "The word just really creeps me out."

My companion chuckled softly, before patting my head affectionately. "You're more fragile than I would have known."

"You have no idea…" I breathed, not meant for the boy's ears, but he must have heard me, because I felt his fingers lace with mine, and I just sighed. "You're more affectionate than I would have known." His snowy eyes sparkled with mirth as he looked down at me.

"You have no idea."

Before I knew it, I was being scooped up into strong arms, my lips being stolen from me for the third time this evening, but this kiss was the best I have ever experienced.

* * *

I scowled at the mess in my closet. It was a total disaster. It was as if a clothes bomb had exploded. My closet was overflowing with different colored clothing – shirts, tank tops, pants, halter tops, and even bathing suits I never knew I had. I even found a pair of black boxers, that I did not remember even _seeing_, but once I did find out they were my father's… I washed, dried them, put them into a plastic bag which was stuffed under my pillow. Now, I get to sleep on my dad's boxers every night. Ain't it fun?

With a sigh, I took a deep breath, and dove into the sea of material. I practically swam through the over-turned closet, and bonked my head on the wall a couple of times – resulting in a slightly headache, and a rather large bump on my head, which, by the way, did _not_ help matters. After what seemed like hours and hours of sorting through and picking out clothing, I finally went with a slightly girly outfit that really wasn't me.

Personally, I don't like girly clothing. It isn't comfortable, and I'm outside a lot so, I don't usually wear the uncomfortable clothing. But today, I thought 'Hmmm… I'm in a club, it's dark and it has air conditioning… so who would actually care?' No-one, really.

I pulled on a light blue jean mini-skirt that I found in the back of my closet, and it was surprisingly clean… On my upper-body I slid into a black, long sleeved, thin cotton top that has a belt-like effect near the third rib, and flares at the bottom. I let my hair down, which turned into a poofy mess. I have really thick hair, and it gets really poofy, especially after showers. That it probably the only reason I keep my hair up. It's just a tiny tad embarrassing. Of course, once I came across a straightener I kept in my bathroom for these occasions, I calmed down immediately.

I pulled on a pair of black tights, since it was below zero outside, and it actually ain't that fun to freeze your ass off on the way to the car. I also had experience with high-heels, though I am a bit wobbly on them. I am a dancer, after all. I have to get used to these things. I found a pair of rather new, shiny black leather boots that actually came up past my knee, but were close-fitting and the exact right size. It actually made me wonder, since these were my mother's favorite boots, and she wore them all the time in winter.

I couldn't help but smile sadly at the memory that made my heart scrunch up in pain. I remember trying on those boots when I was five. They were taller than me at that time, and I couldn't even fit my whole in them, because they were taller than me. I remember my mom laughing at my failed attempts, and I even remember scowling at her, but she still laughed. My mom was a beautiful woman. People said we looked a lot alike, but I could never look as beautiful as my mom. Never. Whenever I glanced in the mirror I saw someone strange and ugly. My eyes were too far apart, my nose was too big, and my ears looked like they were ripped off a monkey and put on me. Truthfully, I don't even know why Neji chose me. He was attractive and sweet. Why would he choose to date an ugly ducking? Or an alien?

Just as I was about to pull on and zip up my last boot, the door bell rang, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. Luckily, I was prepared. I straightened my hair, and put pale blue eye-shadow on my lids. I didn't put on any sort of lip gloss. It made my lips dry. I don't like it.

I practically stuffed my foot into the boot – with two-inch high stilettos – and wobbled towards the door rather ungracefully. I opened it, and gasped as I found my face stuffed into a sea of bright red roses.

"Tenten, you ready?"

* * *

Whoot! Sorry it took _soooooo_ long, everyone. I was just out of it. I had no inspiration, and a LOT of school stuff. I'm also sick at the moment too, so. Anyways, I had the musical performance 'Into the Woods', and I managed to participate in it, so I had no time on the computer between learning lines, memorizing them, memorizing and writing my speech (on Cheetahs), and blah blah blah… But, NOW. All that's done. I got an A- on my speech, the audience loved the show, and all I have left is band, but that's not till May! Whoot! I AM FREE!!!! .

So… Right? Are you all happy? Be happy! If you're not… then… it's your problem! HAHA!

Also... The bird fact is actually true. A naturally caged bird wouldn't immediately fly out of it's cage when it has been opened. It would probably faint from fear, and peck itself into dust before flying out of it's cage. It's just how nature works!

The phobia names were found on if anyone is interested. And if you really liked the long word for fear of long words, press Ctrl+F on your key board and type 'long words'. You'll find it. It's rather disturbing.

Pack mules tend to have a lot of energy. That is because they travel through mountains with a lot of load on their backs, so they need enough energy to keep going for several days at a time.


	6. Cinderella at the Ball

**Dreamer101: **I agree! Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia – I would have thought it was fear of hippos or something, but fear of long words? If someone was Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobic, they wouldn't be able to tell others that they _were_ Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobic because they would be freaked to death. I mean, dude! Come up with shorter names. Thanks for the review!

**Ihearyu.xD: **Thank you! And thank you! And thank you again! Thanks for the review!

**Matahari: **Yep! First date. Wow. I _just_ realized that. Thanks for the review!

**Angelgrillz: **You couldn't wait? Well, here it is! Oh, and thanks for the review!

Just so everyone knows. My next goal is 60 reviews! THANK YOU! Oh, and the phobia names were found on trusty ol' Googlie McGoogle! Just search for Phobia names. xD!

* * *

"Tenten, you ready?"

I didn't reply. I was nearly choking. I liked the smell of roses, but when they're stuffed half way up your nose, it's not too fun.

Stepping back, I pushed back the gag reflex that had build up in my throat, pasted on a rather nervous smile, and took the bouquet from the Hyuuga's hands. I glanced at the roses, and smiled softly. They were beautifully assorted.

"I bet Ino made this," I muttered, flicking a loose petal in Neji's face. He just blew it away with his magical breathing powers, and looked up at me, almost expectantly.

"Yes, she did. You didn't expect me to cut roses from my own garden, and then put them into a bouquet?" I just blinked. "Sure, it would have costed less, since the roses always grow back, but I don't think Hiashi-sama would have appreciated that, and he surely would have ripped my head off. So, it turns out that wasting money on flowers is much easier than being headless all your life, don't you agree?"

It might have seemed that Neji found my current expression amusing; because the next thing I know is… he's _chuckling_. I shot him a glare, and stalked into my apartment. It was now much more organized and clean, since I knew Neji was coming to pick me up. I, almost grudgingly, cleaned it. The floors were spotless, and the walls were sparkling, and I didn't like it. I loved my messy apartment. _This_ just wasn't me.

I walked into the kitchen, getting used to my mom's boots rather quickly. I had to spend a whole evening in them, so I guess I might just walk around in them while I can. Finding a random vase in a cupboard, I filled it with cold water, and put in the wonderfully smelling roses into the liquid. I spread them out a little with my fingers, and gazed at the blood-red flowers, not feeling uneasy. Ino had once told me that blood-red roses meant 'Love'.

"Hmm."

"Oi, TENTEN-CHAN!" I jumped at the too familiar voice that made my whole apartment complex shudder.

"SHUT UP, NARUTO!" That was definitely Ino. I heard the sound of clicking heels descending from the hallway and into the kitchen, and in a matter of moments; the blonde was beside me, observing the scarlet red 'Love' flowers. "Beautiful, aren't they?"

"Hmm…" I just hummed in reply, sighing, still gazing the marvelous display. Suddenly, something came to my mind. "There is an odd number of roses."

"I know." Ino replied, as she started to rearrange the flowers. Why she did it, I will never know. She just said it looked better that way.

"Is that a good thing?" The Yamanaka nodded, smiling slightly at the newly arranged bouquet. "But, isn't an odd number of flowers a bad thing?"

"No, Tenten. You got it all mixed up." Ino turned to me with an amused expression. "An even number of flowers is brought to a funeral, or when something bad has happened. An odd number of flowers is brought to a wedding, or when something good has happened."

I just blinked, and something made my stomach churn. Something akin to… worry? "Are you sure?" I inquired hesitantly, glancing at the beaming bouquet of flowers, which stood rather embarrassingly on my kitchen counter. Ino just laughed at me, and put a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"Believe me. I knew that before I could read. My family has owned the Yamanaka Flower Shop for generations." I still wasn't convinced, and tried to look like I was… but failed miserably. Ino must have noticed, because she sighed. I glanced at her, rather flabbergasted. "Is this about the first date thing?"

I blinked. "First date? Today's our first date? Really?" Ino just laughed again, and nodded. The sound of thin stilettos on the hard wood floor in the corridor leading to the kitchen made me turn to look at the new arrival.

Sakura's bubblegum pink hair was twisted into elegant curls framing her heart-shaped face, her startling green eyes outlined with baby pink eye shadow, and just a tad of white eye-liner. Her peach complexion and high cheek bones made her look gorgeous, even if she was just wearing one of those 'little black dresses' a pair of simple black evening shoes. Those evening shoes might have been simple looking, but they had little strappy-thingies going up her leg, and stop right below her knee. I had to admit, the Haruno – even if she could be a bitch – looked beautiful.

"Hey, Sakura!" I waved, looking her over. "Why so pretty?"

Sakura raised her head, and smiled triumphantly. "You don't look so bad yourself, Tenten."

I raised a brow at her questioningly. "That doesn't really answer my question."

"Let's just say, you're not the only one going on your first date."

Both my brows rose. "You and Sasuke?" _Pinky_ nodded. "You _do_ know we're going to a club, right?"

Sakura shrugged. "That doesn't stop me from looking nice." I gasped in a fake offence.

"Are you saying I don't look nice?"

"No, no, Tenten. She's just a bit over-dressed, that's all."

"Speak for yourself." I glanced at Ino's attire. _Pinky_ over there did have a point.

Ino's long blonde hair was raised into a high pony-tail, and brushed into a long, golden curl that cascaded down her bare back. Her dress was rather short. It ended two inches above her knee. It was made of a silver, silky material, that wasn't necessarily silk, but it sparkled like real silver. On Ino's waist was a belt made of the same material, but it was longest belt I have ever seen. It was tied loosely, with a knot on the side. The belt was tied unevenly. The shorter part of the _string_, for lack of a better word, was hanging in front of the longer one, while the longer one reached just above the blonde's ankle. Ino's feet were covered in grey Jimmy Choos, with little fake diamonds around the strap. In all, she looked fit for a wedding – let alone, a _bride!_

The blonde put on a fake disgusted look on her face, pouted her lips slightly, and started walking down the hall, waving her butt – like those models do on cat walks. I cocked my head to the side, watching her. She would actually make a decent model.

Sakura and I followed the bride-alike Yamanaka and stepped outside the apartment complex. I closed and locked the door behind me, and turned around, only to find myself face to face with Neji.

"What took you so long?" He asked, his expression rather threatening as he watched Ino stumble down the stairs on her high-heels. Sakura laughed and pointed at her, but her laughter died down to soft giggling as Sasuke came up behind her, and Shikamaru caught the bewildered blonde. Hinata and Naruto just watched the whole scene with wide eyes.

"Well, you know…" I started, pushing the long-haired _bastard_ out of my way, and walking down the stairs, more confidently than I ever could walk in those boots… ever. "Us girls just take a lot of time." I glanced at him over my shoulder, before taking another step down, but before I could make to the door that led out of my apartment building, I turned back around, and practically sprinted back up the stairs, passing a surprised Neji.

"Where are you going?"

I fumbled with the door uselessly for a while and finally stuck the key into the hole. "I forgot my coat!" And I tripped over the threshold.

* * *

The car horns blared around us, and Neji – being a bastard – joined in with the other idiots who nearly made my ear drums pop. I glanced at him. His white eyes were on fire, I was sure that if he didn't start breathing, he'd die. His face was turning blue again.

"Neji?" I touched his shoulder softly, and he started breathing again. With a deep sigh, he hung his head. "Neji, are you alright?" He nodded, and looked back up to the road. We were on the damned highway, stuck in traffic, and nearly deaf – stupid angry drivers. It was 6:59 p.m. on the car clock, and as the seconds passed by, the slower we moved… if possible.

Behind us, Shikamaru made himself comfortable with his head on Ino's lap, while the blonde proceeded to boredly stroke his hair, staring – no, _glaring ­– _out the car window. The Nara just glanced up at her with a sigh, and closed his eyes heavily. Huh. I _still_ wonder what he was so exhausted about. Men are so complicated, and they say women are troublesome.

I sighed. It was boring… Maybe, it was time to lighten the mood.

Putting on a rather blank expression, I asked as casually as I could. "Did you guys hear the story about the girl who killed her own mother?" The reactions were immediate.

"What?" Ino squeaked, turning to face the back of my seat. I smirked, and turned to Neji who was staring at me – interested.

"That's one freaky daughter." Came the reply from the lazy Nara, who didn't even move when I turned around in my seat to face him.

"So… you wanna hear the story?" Ino started nodding vigorously. Shikamaru popped an eye open, while Neji just _stared at me. _Still interested. "Right. So, there was a husband and a wife and they had a little girl together. The girl was very small, and was just learning to walk up the stairs. One day, the husband went on a business trip, leaving the wife alone with the little girl. During dinner, the little girl said to her mom, "Mommy, I love walking up the stairs!" The mom smiled, and replied, "Oh, that's great honey!" Then, the little girl said, "Mommy, when I die, will you bury up under the stairs?" The mom was obviously surprised, but nodded yes anyways." I looked at the blonde, who was watching me so intently, I was sure her eyes would pop out of their sockets if she didn't relax. Shikamaru actually raised his head a bit off Ino's lap, and Neji was looking at the road – more like car – in front of him, though I could tell he was listening. "After dinner, the little girl said, "Mommy, I'm gonna go practice walking up the stairs!" And she went. The mom was cleaning the dishes, and the girl was singing a little song as she walked up the stairs. "Mommy, I'm on the first step! Mommy, I'm on the second step! Mommy, I'm on the third –"

"Get on with the story!" Shikamaru growled, sitting up in his seat. I glared at him, but obliged.

""—step! Mommy, I'm on the –" And the little girl screamed." Ino gasped. "The mom ran to see what was going on. The little girl fell of the stairs—"

"Off the fourth step?"

"Stop interrupting the story, Shikamaru!" Ino slapped his arm, but she was still staring at me like her life depended on it. "And then…?"

"—and there was blood everywhere! The little girl got a serious concussion. The little girl died." The blonde Yamanaka looked like she was going to faint. "A couple of months after the funeral, the husband went on another business trip, leaving the wife alone in the house. She was looking at the pictures of her little girl. Then, she thought, "No, I'm not going to torture myself anymore. I'm not going to think about it!" So, she went upstairs to go read a book. After reading a couple of pages, she heard, very, very faintly… "Mommy, I'm on the first step.""

"Eek!"

"Stop squeaking, Ino."

I continued. "The mom didn't think anything of it, and continued reading her book. After a couple of minutes, she heard something, a bit louder, "Mommy, I'm on the second step.""

Ino clapped her hands over her mouth, and Shikamaru was on the verge of crushing his own hands. Neji's knuckles were getting white from holding onto the wheel so hard.

"The mom freaked out, and went to see the stairs, because that's where the sound was coming from. She saw nothing. She thought, "Oh, it's all in my head." And went back to reading the book. Then, very soon she heard much louder and clearer, "Mommy, I'm on the third step."" I wasn't interrupted this time. "The mom freaked out again, and ran to hide in the closet."

"Well, that's stupid." I turned to look at the Hyuuga, who was still staring at the road. Apparently, he really was listening. I just shrugged, and continued.

"The voice was very loud and close now, and it was singing all the way up to the top of stairs. Once, it got to the top of the stairs, it stopped. The mom was very scared now, and huddled to the corner of the closet. After a long while, she heard the voice again, this time, right outside the closet door. "Mommy, I'm gonna find you." When the husband came back from his business trip, he found his wife dead in the closet with a hanger around her neck."

I let out a full blown laugh at the expression the three had on. Ino's face was very pale, and she looked… well, scared. Shikamaru just blinked, shrugged, and glanced at Ino. Immediately, his face had worry lines on it etched all over, and he draped a reassuring arm across the blonde's shoulder, who instinctively huddled closer to the lazy boy, grabbing onto his shirt.

"Please don't leave on a business trip, Shika-kun. Please don't leave on a business trip. I don't want a dead kid haunting me." She whispered her blue eyes wider than basketballs.

"I'm not going anywhere, Ino."

I rolled my eyes at the frightened couple, and turned back to the road with a sigh. Suddenly, the car started to move, and I just blinked.

"Traffic's moving," I muttered, glancing at the long-haired driver, who had now relaxed, and was slumped against the back of his seat, one hand on the wheel, the other on the armrest.

"I noticed." He commented, brows rising slightly. "Great story, Tenten. It made the cars move. You should do that more often. So… why was there a hanger around the wife's neck?"

I smirked. "Wow, Neji. That was the longest you have ever spoken for. I should have timed it. And I'm guessing she had a hanger around her neck because she either got choked by a dead kid, or choked herself."

"Interesting."

"Isn't it?"

* * *

The car was parked right in front of the entrance to the club, above which in bright, elegant, red letters was written the name _Kitsune_. Neji and I stood right at the doors, with Shikamaru and Ino, who was still clinging to the lazy teen like her life depended on it. Neji barely talked me out of taking a potato peeler, and trying to scrape the blonde off the Nara – who did absolutely nothing to do just that without my assistance.

Sasuke and Sakura joined us, one dressed fancier than the other, meaning that Sakura looked like she was going to a ball, while Sasuke had just a pair of jeans on, a white shirt, and a leather jacket. When we greeted the two, Sasuke gave me a once-over, smirked and tried to remark slyly about the way I dressed, but I managed to step on his toe before he could – with a _stiletto_. He ended up wincing, and limping away, while Neji shook his head and muttered something about 'not messing with her', which made me extremely proud and smug as I patted the obedient Hyuuga on the head.

Naruto and Hinata walked up to the entrance a minute or so later, and they were the only ones dressed properly. Hinata wore a pair of simple light blue jeans, and a white sweater shirt with a pair of running shoes. Naruto was dressed almost exactly the same, except his sweat shirt was a bright orange color. Ah, classic Naruto.

The two seemed surprised by Sasuke's loathing glares directed at me, and the way he held his foot while leaning on a rather annoyed looking Sakura. I didn't spare them an explanation when they didn't ask, and so we entered the 'infamous' club by the name of _Kitsune_.

Once inside, I was blinded by numerous flashing lights, different colors blurring my vision as I squinted and pushed my way through the crowd with Neji and the others right behind me. The loud sound of music blaring and the people cheering nearly popped my eardrums, and I regretted the very moment I stepped inside the club that I forgot to bring my ear plugs. The crowd was rather thick, and I was getting claustrophobic quite easily. I am a rather phobic person. It was rather hard to breathe, and once I squished out of the mob – who just turned out to be dancing quite innocently on the dance floor – and into the bar, I let out a stifled gasp, and swallowed down fresh air. Neji just gave me a weird look before proceeding towards the bar stand.

When I settled my bottom down on a stool, I nearly got attacked by a bunch of chattering and twittering boys who started to try and order me drinks that I didn't even know existed.

"Tenten-sama! Is that really you? I _must_ buy you a beer!"

"Tenten-sama, please give your autograph!"

"Tenten-sama, would you like to go out with me?!"

"Tenten-sama, dance with me!"

All I could do was stutter something out, and try to get a hold of the bar tender, who was watching me quite warily.

"Oi!" A sudden bark made the chattering group around me shut up immediately as they all cautiously turned to look at Neji. His eyes were on fire, and a vein was popping menacingly at his temple. He was holding onto the bar stand so tightly that his knuckles were getting whiter than they already were. "Back off, you little bastards! That's my girlfriend you're hitting on there!" Suddenly, the whole bar seemed to quiet down. Even the bar tender – his first impression on me was that he was a lazy, stubby old man with a big bald spot on his head – looked mildly interested. All I could do right _then_ was blink.

After a long pause, the boys scrambled away from me, muttering hushed apologies, and walking away with disappointed faces. Neji was already relaxed and was sipping an amber drink with a bunch of ice cubes wobbling around in the small cup. After another long moment of silence and after a long moment of quick – if you can call it quick – thinking, I finally realized what he was drinking.

"Neji!" I gasped. "Are you drinking… whiskey?" I was suddenly confused. Neji was seventeen… how was—

"Yeah." Replied nonchalantly, taking another sip of the reddish alcohol. He then slid a card towards me down the smooth surface of the stand, and I caught it.

_Name: Hyuuga Neji_

_Age: Eighteen_

_Gender: Male_

_Occupation: Student_

_DOB: 03/07/1989_

_BT: O_

Ah, yes. I glanced at the Hyuuga and he just looked right back at me. I shot him a look, as if saying:

"Fake ID?"

He nodded. I nodded back, and looked at the card. The picture of Neji was of his stoic self. His face was neutral, and his eyes were betraying nothing. How I ever fell for the cold ice cube, I will never know. At least he was… smart.

"_And now, ladies and gentlemen! With great joy, I am proud to present to you… __**The Sound Four!**_"

I jumped up from my stool – tripping over my own feet in the process – at the announcement, and grinned. Today was going to be _fun_. With that same slightly hysterical smile, I strode broadly towards the stage.

"Hey!" I turned around, and faced Neji, still smiling maniacally. He blinked, and seemingly pushed my expression past himself. "Where are you going?"

"Well," I started, tapping a thoughtful finger against my chin. "We got a concert coming up, don't we?" I shrugged and beamed at the stoic boy. "Might as well practice!" And with that, I pranced away, leaving my bewildered boyfriend alone to his thoughts and a cup of whiskey.

* * *

"Get a move on, Jirobo!" Hissed a red headed woman, her dark eyes sparkling distastefully as she eyed the big man. He was moving the instruments into place, while she, Oto Tayuya, sat comfortably on a rather hard step of a rather steep stair. Dressed in just a pair of loose jeans and a plain black t-shirt, she didn't look the type of a sweet voiced singer the outsiders – also known as the audience – knew her as. Oto Tayuya had the shortest temper a woman could have.

Oto Jirobo, the man who moved the instruments, glared at his cousin as he set a bass drum onto the floor with unimaginable ease. His thin orange hair was spiked into a small Mohawk with the help of a thing called hair gel, though it did not get rid of all the bald spots on his head. He was only twenty-one and was already stressed enough to loose hair! It was not his problem… His father had bald spots on his head when he was twenty-one… Actually, his father was _bald_ when he was twenty-one! The large man sighed, slapping a meaty hand onto his forehead. Oh, family.

Tayuya glanced at the sighing giant, and with a slight growl, she stood up curtly. The orange-haired man immediately snapped out of his little moment and continued to arrange the drum set. The red-head set back down with a loud 'Humph!', and muttered something incoherent under her breath, something that sound suspiciously like:

"I am _surrounded_ by _idiots_."

"Hey!"

"We heard that!"

Tayuya jumped up, and landed harshly on her bottom. She winced, and turned around to see two identical boys standing right behind her, smirking rather deviously. They had grey hair, which was obviously dyed, since they were only sixteen. Their eyes were a pale grey as well, and a thin almond shape. They were both rather skinny, with pale, pale skin, and Tayuya wouldn't be surprised if she found out that those two were sneaking into the bathroom to vomit out their meals… Though… even she didn't do it.

"Of course you heard it, you little dipshits." The red-headed singer growled, standing up slowly, turning her whole body around, and stepping onto a step above the one she was sitting on, a threatening tone in her voice. "I said it loud."

The twins didn't even flinch. Instead, their smirks widened.

"Our names aren't dipshits!" One of them exclaimed, leaning against a railing.

"Oto Sakon!" The other said his voice shrill.

"Oto Ukon!"

"Pleased to meetcha, sis!" Both of them chorused, sticking out their hands in one smooth motion. Tayuya glared at her younger brothers. Yes, they were her brothers. Two little, annoying, self-centered, shrill, and extremely… annoying brothers. But, Tayuya let a small smirk grace her lips as she climbed the rest of the stairs and stood a step below her little brothers, before messing up both of their hair. They let out cries of protest, but the big sister didn't stop until she was satisfied.

"Aw, but guys!" She cooed, giggling. "You'll always be my little dipshits!"

Ukon glared at his big sister – who was only two years older than him and his twin brother – while Sakon attempted in trying to fix his grey hair-do.

"Yeah, thanks sis." Ukon muttered with a slight snarl in his voice. He really liked his hair.

"Anytime, lil' bro…" Sakon shot her a look. "…s."

"Tayuya-chyaaaan!!" The red-head whirled around in surprise, only to be pushed back by the force of her sudden attacker. She stumbled back, but held her footing as the twins hollered in laughter. "Long time no seeeeeeeeeee!!"

"Tenten-chan…" Tayuya uttered nervously, prying the smaller brunette off of herself. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, the band's all here!" Tenten exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air and beaming up at her rival singer. Tayuya seemed surprised.

"The band's here? Are you going to be performing as well?"

"Nope! We're just here to hang out. I heard that your guys were going to be performing and I thought that a little practice wouldn't hurt."

"A little practice?" It was Tayuya's turn to brighten up. "You mean… the duets we used to have?"

Tenten seemed taken aback. "'Used to'? Who said used to?"

"She did." Sakon pointed at his sister, but the brunette disregarded his remark, and knuckled him in the head instead. The boy tripped over a step, and fell on his brother while clutching his head for dear life. "Oh, NOO!!" He yelled, wriggling around as Ukon tried to push his twin brother off. "YOU GAVE ME BRAIN DAMAGE!"

Tenten just raised a brow at him. "Well, that's new. You have a brain?"

"Ha! Good one, Tenten-chan." The deep voice made the girl turn herself to look around, and with a loud squeal, she threw herself at the new arrival.

"Kidomaru-kun!" The screamed happily as he caught her in his arms, grinning toothily as he did. Oto Kidomaru was a muscular young man, with tan skin and dark brown hair, in a hair-do that reminded Tenten a lot of Shikamaru. He had chocolate brown eyes that could be serious and calculating one moment, and the next they could be dancing with unending joy and just utter happiness. Kidomaru was a character, and that's why Tenten loved him.

"Hiya, Tenten-chan! How's my favorite girl?" He asked her, smiling genuinely. He patted her head gently, before blinking in confusion. "Hmm. Something's different about you."

Tenten rolled her eyes at the brown-haired man of nineteen years. "Is it really not that obvious?"

"No, no… I can get this!" Kidomaru said, stroking his chin with his thumb and index finger in thought. After a short while, the nineteen-year-old teen grinned and exclaimed loudly. "You have your hair down!"

"And…?"

"And straightened!"

"And…"

"And…" His eyes widened greatly. "Holy crap, Tenten! You're wearing high-heels!"

"Thank you!" The brunette did a little bow as a pale, white-haired man entered the room, a clip-board in his hand, and a pen behind his ear.

"Come on, guys. You're on in one minute." He muttered and walked out casually after his rather random appearance. "Hey, Tenten-chan." He muttered as he passed the brown-haired girl, who was now being looked over by Kidomaru. The boy was in awe that this tomboy was actually able to stay on two inch stilettos for more than a second.

"Never mind. You're on _now._" The white haired man hissed at the band, and on cue, they scrambled to their positions – Tenten included. Tayuya grabbed a spare microphone, plugged into the set, and threw it at the brunette who caught it expertly and made her way to center stage.

Kidomaru found his spot at the drum set, while Ukon scrambled to the keyboards, Sakon grabbed his electric guitar, and Jirobo got his bass ready. The two singers plastered on charming smiles as the curtain before them raised itself before them, and as applause exploded one booming, surprised voice could out-shout even the loudest whistlers.

"_**Tenten-chan!?**_"

* * *

CHAPTER DONE! I know, you must hate me for the sudden cliffhanger, and I know I took so long to update. Forgive me, my fellow readers and fans. Yes, fans. I know got fans…. I think. Anyways…! I made the Sound Four related!! Jirobo and Tayuya are cousins, as well as Kidomaru with the rest of them. Ukon and Sakon are twins, and they are younger, and that's because I LOVE messing with ages. It's fun. Ukon and Sakon are Tayuya's twin brothers. I know, it's strange, but they couldn't be cousins! It would be too suspicious. Oh, yeah, and the last part of the fanfiction is in third person because it would be easier to write the concert this way. And yes, the white-haired man was Kimimaro.

Right then! I also have a game for your fellow readers! The person who can post the longest review will win a couple of hugs, kissed and cookies, as well as an early chapter! GOOD LUCK! AND REVIEW NO JUTSU!


	7. Relations?

**Dreaming101: **Ha. Please don't kill me… (laughs nervously). I'd rather live. Thanks for the long review! .

**Luna Forest: **You got a fake ID? Cool! Anyways, thanks for the review! .

My Goal for this chapter is 75 reviews! Thank you to those who help accomplish these goals! _You_ made this story possible:

Dreaming101, Luna Forest, Whipped Coffee, RandomWeaponsGirl, Angelgrillz, iheartyu.xD, Matahari, everyday-snowangel, sunnyplace123, insanlynuts, CheshireMax, black-lightning82, NegoArgentaeDragotea, WolfishFoxx, elegant-shining-moon, Gardian of all Anime worlds, Blossoms of Spring, xxFirutoxx, Princess of Storms, lilchibihina, Peaches'n'Cream, o.O, Mizu-Kaze Hana, Tsukiko Yuki, OMGltzvicky, YukiHanaCat.

Thank you for your support everyone! . I luff you all very much! (sends kisses and hugs!!) OH, AND DON'T FORGET THE LONG REVIEW CONTEST, EVERYONE! THE INSTRUCTIONS AND PRIZE WERE IN THE LAST CHAPTER AT THE VERY END. THANK YOU. (Caps abuse.)

Also, I'll continue writing in third person until the concert with the Sound Four ends.

* * *

Tenten blinked as the spotlight hit Tayuya and her, instantly blinding her. But, she kept her eyes open and a bright smile on her face due to knowing that the audience can see your every move. And once the voice screamed her name, she couldn't help a smirk. Her eyes had already adjusted to the florescent lighting, and she gazed down at Naruto rather triumphantly as she put her lips closer to the microphone.

"Hello, Naruto." The blonde boy grimaced as the oblivious girls around him squealed, and started jumping on him, pushing poor Hinata into Neji, who was more than happy to back away. Tenten saw this as a sign, and continued. "Hello, Neji-kun, and Shikamaru-kun… and…" There was a tense silence, which she kept going until some random fan started jumping, and that fan just happened to be a girl.

"Is Sasuke-kun here?" She whispered huskily, looking up at the brunette with such hope, that Tenten was at loss for words at the moment. She glanced at Tayuya, who was looking at her boredly, but rather expectantly as well. She raised a brow at her red-haired partner, and with a sigh, she once again continued her little… _ahem,_ introduction.

"And of course, Sasuke-kun." Before the girl could finish, excited screamed erupted in the club area as many other _females_ tried to latch onto Sasuke, while others redistributed themselves about the other famous males. Neji was nearly drowning in the sea of girls; the last thing Tenten saw of her boyfriend was his pinky finger as he attempted to scramble out. Naruto was nowhere to be seen, and only Shikamaru's Pineapple head was poking out of the human pile he was trapped in. Sasuke – _Sasuke - _actually managed to stay on the surface, while the girls stared at him in fear and despair, and only because Sakura was holding onto him with a very animalistic expression.

"Yeah, well. We were actually thinking about starting, but you know…" Tayuya breathed and resisted banging her head against her microphone. "…whatever works for you."

Instantly, the room head gone from noise to silence. There wasn't even shuffle of feet was heard. The red-head Oto smirked. "Alright. I guess this works for you." The two girls exchanged determined looks, and nodded to each other. The band behind them took it as the signal to start.

Ukon pressed a chord on the keyboards, and Kidomaru started up a beat on the drums. The girls nodded their heads to the beat, and the crowd followed the example.

(**Tayuya **and_ Tenten_, _**Together.**_)

"**Yeah, that's right. All you single people out there," **The audience immediately went wild. **"This is for you."**

"_Yeah." _A whistle sounded out as Jirobo whistled a tune through his mic.

"**I'm not waiting around for a man to save me… **

'_Cause I'm happy where I am._

**Don't depend on a guy to validate me**

_No, no…_

**I don't need to be anyone's baby**

_Is that so hard to understand?_

**No, I don't need another half to make me… **_**whole."**_

The girls exchanged glances, and Tenten took her microphone off the stand with a big smile on her face. Her brown eyes twinkled merrily, as she took a couple of steps back and twirled around on her toes. Her straightened hair followed her movement as it swished behind her, and she took a couple of steps forward, crossing her feet in a model-walk fashion as she sang her part in the background. "_Dun da da, dun da da, dun da da, dun da da…" _

"**Make your move if you want,**

**Doesn't mean I will or won't…**

_Dun da da, dun da da…_

**I'm free to make my mind up,**

**You either got it or you don't…"**

Tenten traced her hip with one hand seductively and she smiled at the drooling boys. She lowered herself slightly as she brought her hand up her waist and ribs, before bring the back of her hand up her neck and cheek as she straightened herself once again.

"**This is my current single status,**

**My declaration of independence,**

**There's no way I'm trading places,**

**Right now a star's in the ascendant.**

**I'm single…**

_Right now._

**That's how I wanna be,**

**I'm single…**

_Right now._

**That's how I wanna be."**

Tenten stepped towards the top of the stage, while Tayuya hung around center, swaying her hips flirtatiously as she walked away from her lead singer role. Her bright red hair glistened in the lights that hit the brunette instead of her now, but she didn't care. Tenten wasn't the only dancer around. That was proved as she raised herself on one toe, and flipped backward, her body pushed together before she landed on that same toe.

"_Ah, yeah… Uh-huh, that's right._

_Don't need to be on somebody's arms to look good,_

**I like who I am.**

_I'm not saying I don't wanna fall in love, 'cause I would,_

_I'm not gonna get hooked up, just 'cause you say I should_

**Can't romance on demand.**

_I'm gonna wait so I'm sorry if you misunderstood."_

Tayuya's hand stand was perfect, and she pushed into the air with her arms, and landed firmly on both feet, her back facing the crowd. She arched her back, and planted her hands on the floor, before flipping her feet over herself. Her back was once against facing the audience; she whirled around violently, before stepping up to Tenten's side, who was singing her heart out.

"_This is my current single status,_

_My declaration of independence,_

_There's no way I'm trading places,_

_Right now, a star's in the ascendant._

_I'm single…_

**Right now.**

_That's how I wanna be._

_I'm single…_

**Right now.**

_That's how I wanna be._

_I'm single…_

**Right now.**

_That's how I wanna be._

_I'm single."_

Both girls took a deep breath.

"_**Everything in its right time, everything in its right place,**_

_**I know I'll settle down one day,**_

_**But 'til then I like it this way…**_

_**It's my way.**_

_**Eh, I like it this way."**_

The crowd cheered like there was no tomorrow, and the guys were free since the fangirls stopped just to stare in awe at the two singers up front. Tenten caught Neji's eye, and winked at him, receiving a familiar smirk as reply. When there was a pause in the music, she took the chance to stick her tongue out at her stoic boyfriend. He raised his brow, before standing up and making his way towards the stage.

"_Make your move if you want,_

_Doesn't mean I will or won't,_

**Dun da da, dun da da…**

_I'm free to make my mind up,_

_You either got it or you don't._

'**Til then, I'm single."**

The brunette lowered herself, and Neji received her offered hand to help him on the stage. With a swift jump, he planted both his feet firmly to the wooden platform, and immediately grabbed onto Tenten's waist, and swung her around so he was holding her from behind. Envious glares were directed from the audience towards the couple – the fangirls glared at Tenten for taking their man, while the fanboys glared at the Hyuuga, who glared right back. He laid his chin on his girlfriend's shoulder as his arms snaked around to her waist, while Tenten lifted her hand to wrap around the man's neck.

"_**This is my current single status," **_Tenten pushed away from Neji, who seemed rather disappointed, but followed his woman towards the top of the stage. _**"My declaration of independence," **_The singer turned to face her pursuer, and put her hand on his chest, and pushed rather sharply. Neji stumbled back a bit with a cold look in his eyes. Tenten smiled warmly at him, before twirling around to face her audience again. _**"There's no way I'm trading places," **_Both of the girls lifted their hands into the air. _**"Right now, a star's in the ascendant."**_

"_**This is my current single status,**_

_**My declaration of independence,**_

_**There's no way I'm trading places,**_

_**Right now, a star's in the ascendant.**_

"_I'm single,_

**Right now.**

_That's_** how**_** I wanna be.**_

_I'm single,_

**Right now.**

_That's_** how **_**I wanna be.**_

_I'm single,_

**Right now.**

_That's _**how **_**I wanna be.**_

_I'm single._

_That's_** how I _wanna be."_**

By now, the crowd was screaming like there was no tomorrow, and Neji had found his place attached to Tenten once again, smirking smugly at the fanboys who looked on the verge of tears. Tayuya shot them annoyed looks, and inched away awkwardly.

"_**Oh, oh-oh, **_

_**Oh, oh…"**_

The song ended, and the around them crackled with excitement and joy, and while Tayuya bowed, Neji didn't let Tenten go, so she had to push him off her just to give a short bow to the audience. She had sworn someone cackled. Why would anyone cackle?

"I didn't know you could sing…" Neji muttered into her neck as they walked off stage, while Tayuya stayed for her solo performance. Tenten scoffed at him, rolling her eyes.

"That's like saying that I didn't know you were a man." She giggled at he muttered a soft apology into her shoulder. "Neji, what are you doing? Sniffing me?" She could feel a smile against her skin.

"You smell nice." Tenten just couldn't help a grin.

"It's strawberry." The brunette laughed as the Hyuuga started trailing kiss up her neck, soon reaching her lips. The kiss was soft and tender, but it soon became hot and passionate. Tenten didn't even notice how her hands were digging through Neji's thick locks, while he grabbed a hold of her spine, pushing her towards him violently. Tenten squeaked a bit, but did not interrupt the kiss. When it did interrupt was when the two resurfaced to take a large gulp of air, before diving back into the ecstatic madness. Just when they thought it was going to continue forever, a soft stuttered question brought the two back to reality, giving them a harsh slap in the face.

"O-Oto Tenten-chan?" The brunette turned to look around rather lazily, before peeling herself away from a reluctant Neji, who was trying to protest in every single way – not really – but halted, as if something came across his head.

Tenten on the other hand, was walking threateningly towards the white haired man, who seemed more surprised than scared for he had witnessed some seriously violent kissin' out there. The brunette already had the man by the shirt, and less than two inches away from her face. Her brown eyes were glowing menacingly, and she was surely about to kill someone. Though the man _seemed_ unfazed, Tenten knew that his insides were screaming for mercy.

"How many times have I told you _not_ to call me by my last name?" The whispered harshly, her eyes narrowed to the point when they were almost closed. Even if she had her eyes completely closed, there was still some sort of cold aura emitting from the girl.

"I'm sorry, they were just ask—"

"Sorry won't do it, Kimimaro."

The man grimaced as she spat his name out like venom. "As I was saying, there are people outside with notebooks and markers, trying desperately to get in. I thought I might tell you."

"How do _they_ know my last name?"

"They don't."

"How do _you_ know my last name?"

"You're related to the singer in my band – by blood, might I say – and I wouldn't know?"

Tenten thought for a moment. "That's true."

Kimimaro seemed relieved. "See?"

"Not really, Kaguya, but I'll let it pass with this—" Kimimaro's eyes widened, and he stepped back, only to unfortunately hit his back against the wall behind him. Tenten's eyes were abnormally small, and she brought her hand back slowly, before violently pushing it towards the poor Kaguya's face. The white-haired man closed his eyes sharply, and waited for the moment of intense pain. When, the moment didn't come, he opened his eyes just a crack. The brunette's hand was less than an inch away from his cheek – she seemed deep in thought. With a soft 'Hmm…' she brought her hand back to her side, and Kimimaro sighed in relief. Just when he was about to hang his head…

"Psyche!" And the white-haired man crumbled down to the floor in a heap, eyes watering, and clutching his crotch. Neji just blinked at Tenten's sudden act of violence, and let it go with a shrug, though there was a question that bugged him.

"Oto Tenten?" He inquired, a brow rising. Tenten turned to look at her boyfriend, smiling rather triumphantly.

"Yeah?" Neji couldn't help an eye roll, though once again, you couldn't tell with him.

"_Oto_ Tenten?"

"Oh." A look of frightened, dawning comprehension crossed the brunette dancer's face. "I didn't tell you about that?" The Hyuuga sighed, and shook his head.

"Well… Tayuya-chan is my sister."

* * *

Well, that was a rather pointless chapter. The song 'Single' was not written by me, or sung by me. It all belongs to Natasha Bedingfield, so don't ask me about it. Thanks for readin', and leave a review on your way out! 


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